THESE ARE THE MIND TRICKS RESTAURANTS USE TO MAKE YOU SPEND MORE MONEY
Be suspicious of the menu design, and other tips from restaurant industry insiders.
When you make decisions at a restaurant, you’re exercising your own free will: True or false?
Sorry to take away your agency, but the answer is mostly false. The second you walk into a dining establishment, you’re being slowly influenced to order the things the restaurant makes the most money selling. There are two ways it happens. One is at the corporate level, where chains design the whole experience to milk you of your money and keep you coming back. This is the realm of enticing photographs on menus, color theory (some say red makes you feel hungrier) or of things like McDonald’s odd mix of inviting design (bright lights that entice you in) and annoying design (the same over-bright lights also make you eat up and get out, and those seats are uncomfortable for a reason).
The other is possibly more interesting, consisting of the tricks used by small establishments to make you spend more. And like any home-spun psychological theory, these techniques are a mixture of solid advice and hokum.
A user on the question and answer site Quora recently asked: “How do restaurants use psychology to manipulate our spending and eating habits?” The answers are fascinating.
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THE 6 MARKETING CHANNELS YOU SHOULD BE PERSONALIZING
It isn’t enough to master your marketing communications through one channel if your current or prospective customers engage with you in many different channels. And for most companies, it is pretty safe to assume that they are. The typical digital consumer now owns 3.64 connected devices. Forrester predicts that by 2021, 40% of in-store sales will be influenced by the internet. And even in financial services, 47% of bank customers engaged in at least one cross-channel interaction in the past 90 days.
At Evergage, when we talk about cross-channel marketing, we don’t mean mass communication across channels. We mean personalized communication. Why? Consumers expect personalized experiences. Forrester found that 77% of consumers have chosen, recommended, or paid more for a brand that provides a personalized service or experience. And Infosys uncovered that 74% of customers feel frustrated when website content is not personalized.
And when we talk about cross-channel personalization, we mean the ability to provide a consistent and relevant experience across website, web app, mobile app, search, email and human channels. In this blog post, let’s briefly explore each of these areas.
1. Website . . .
8 UNEXPECTED WAYS TECHNOLOGY WILL CHANGE THE WORLD BY 2020
How will technology change life by the end of the decade? That’s the subject of a new book, called Shift 2020, which explores the future of everything from greentech and health care to 3-D printing and transport.
Shift 2020 was edited by Rudy De Waele, a strategist and entrepreneur from the U.K., and includes predictions from more than 70 futurists, thinkers-in-residence, entrepreneurs, think-tank analysts, and academics. We picked out a few ideas that caught our eye. You can purchase the full copy here.
New Education Models
Salim Ismail, a director at Singularity University, predicts education will become an “on-demand service” where people “pull down a module of learning” when they need it. Large bundles of knowledge, as in traditional courses, will be out. Specific will be in.
ROCKWELL CEO CITES 7 VIRTUES OF AUTOMATION
The impact of automation extends beyond manufacturing, Moret said.
“Automation may start in the manufacturing plant, but it benefits many aspects of society and impacts everyone in the world today,” Moret said.
I asked Moret to document the seven most redeeming virtues of automation.
- It allows businesses to stay competitive. “Technology is advancing at a rapid pace. … When U.S. businesses combine skilled labor with automation, the company is able to do more with less, enabling the financial means to grow — resulting in new lines of business, which in turn require additional people,” Moret said.
- It fuels the economy. “As businesses become more productive and competitive, the employment multiplier increases, creating a ripple effect through the indirect creation of jobs in the industries that supply, support and service these companies. According to National Association of Manufacturing, for every one worker in manufacturing, there are another potential four employees hired elsewhere.”
- It makes delivery of products faster, cheaper and safer for consumers.“Automation increases the quality of life by being able to provide goods to people that they need, such as more food choices or access to safer medicine,” Moret said.
- It creates higher-skilled, more rewarding and durable jobs that are in high demand. “Advancements in automation increase the demand for skilled labor and new job opportunities. Over the next decade, millions of manufacturing jobs will need to be filled because of retirements and U.S. economic expansion. However, half will go unfilled since fewer than 10% of the younger generation are entering this field because of misconceptions that they are low-tech jobs.”
- It can make an impact on all sizes of businesses. “Technology is leveling the playing field that provides competitiveness to any size business creating more agility for the rapidly changing business environment,” Moret said.
7 STEPS TO MAKE YOUR QUICK SERVICE RESTAURANT A SUCCESS
In the current restaurant scenario, Quick Service Restaurants(QSR) are emerging and expanding like never before, as they provide faster and handy dining experience at a relatively low cost. Competitive price, speed in service, and convenient locations mark the characteristics of a typical QSR. Low in cost, in terms of investment as well as operations, QSR are considered to be low-risk ventures.
However, it is not as easy as it looks. With an increased demand from customers on the quality of food, extreme competition, and the rising prices of ingredients, running a QSR can prove to be a demanding job. Therefore, we decided to talk to industry experts and compiled the steps through which you can make your Quick Service Restaurant a success. Read on, and thank us later!
1. Maintaining Consistency . . .
TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL DOG FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS
Did you know that there is an entire website devoted to finding dog-friendly restaurants?
As Millennials—that group that’s getting married later and later and increasingly opting for pups over kids—take over, it’s no surprise that dog-friendly restaurants are a growing trend.
Just pop the term into Google and you’ll see results from across the country designed to tell pup parents where they can dine with their fur babies. Besides Millennials, there’s also a growing number of empty nesters who once had kids at home but are now pup parents instead to fill the space that their kids once occupied.
If you’re in the restaurant business or are thinking about becoming a restaurant owner, you may want to get on the dog-friendly bandwagon.
