Running a business is never easy, but when you have to worry about marketing on top of day-to-day operations, the typical challenges you expect to face become a bit more complicated. The Internet has exploded in growth, leading us to become more connected than ever. Many business minded individuals (correctly) see this as a ripe landscape of marketing opportunities. However, there are a lot of opportunities and so much more to learn.
Common buzzwords like “best practices” cast a wide net and make it sound like marketing has a common standard, which isn’t always true based on your industry and your specific situation. Alejandro Aguilar, CEO of RestoStrategy, knows this pain all too well. He knows that there are pain points specific to the restaurant industry that often get lost in the homogenous noise of marketing advice, and so, on top of the consultation services that his business provides, he made a marketing resource catered specifically to his peers. He wrote and released a book called Profitable Plates.
Think of Profitable Plates as a comprehensive marketing optimization strategy guide for restaurants. The book discusses a range of need-to-know topics and techniques such as how to run the numbers before promotional campaigns to make sure they make sense, mastering deliveries to maximize profits, how to build a richer community, boosting employee morale, and more. Living in the Information Age means that, while we can learn anything with the tap of a button, it’s equally as possible to get overwhelmed by the innumerable avenues of knowledge. To overcome information overload, Alejandro wrote Profitable Plates to be approachable as well as easy-to-understand.
Alejandro explains, “I went to The National Restaurant Association Show in May 2023, and I was approached by a former McDonald’s colleague. I’ve always admired and respected this guy, and now he was a CEO of a small chain of restaurants in Miami. We get to talking, he figures out what I’m doing now, and he tells me, ‘I need to be able to measure our marketing results. I don’t know what works and what doesn’t work. I’m extremely frustrated.’ He wanted my help, and I gave it to him. But as I was helping him, this lit a fire under me.
“This sent me on a discovery process that resulted in a framework that moves restaurant marketing from good enough to ‘Holy cow! This is amazing!’ with specific and strategic actions that produce ROI from day one in most cases. And the end results motivated me to create Profitable Plates to give restaurant owners tips and tricks that they can apply to their situation as they see fit.”
Through the release of his book, Alejandro wants restaurant owners to realize that marketing is more than just a series of branding tools. When done with intention and focus, it can be an incredible money-making machine. He says, “When done properly, marketing will influence every part of the business and will be as relevant as having a good product and a great experience. I want owners to walk away from Profitable Plates with actionable goals that will help them bring a rejuvenated avenue of profit to their business.”Profitable Plates released on Amazon on July 21st and is available to read on Kindle or as a paperback.
