Each time I communicate on the Pizza Expo, invariably individuals ask me the identical couple of questions, however primarily it’s: “How did you do it?” The “it” is an incredible story of how I took Romeo’s Pizza from one to 31 shops over the past 5 years with 21 of them coming within the final 18 months. The easiest way for me to reply is to clarify the lengthy, arduous course of and the way it takes time, planning, and execution over a interval of years. So after I was requested by Pizza At the moment to put in writing an article detailing and recounting our phenomenal development through the worst recession in a long time, I used to be excited to share with you, the small impartial pizzeria proprietor, a narrative I hope conjures up and helps you develop your operation as effectively.
In 2001, I purchased a small mother and pop pizzeria in Medina, Ohio, referred to as Romeo’s Pizza. It was operated very poorly, however but nonetheless managed to do some good numbers and the pizza appeared fairly stable. This was my third pizza restaurant, and I seemed ahead to rising the enterprise. I tweaked the recipes, added higher administration and started to see a variety of potential. 4 months later, September eleventh occurred, and the world stopped. Gross sales dropped considerably as individuals started to expertise among the monetary uncertainty that’s nonetheless with us right now.
In March of 2002, I requested business marketing consultant Huge Dave Ostrander for some assist in making my idea duplicable. My objective was to open a number of Romeo’s Pizzas and presumably begin franchising, however first I needed to repair the areas of my operation that have been nonetheless damaged and high-quality tune the areas that weren’t. So Huge Dave invited me to the NAPICS meals present in Columbus, Ohio, to fulfill him, and instructed me to enter the pizza contest since I might be down there anyway. After dreaming that I received that evening, I entered the preferred of our pizzas The Butcher Store and proceeded to win first place! The prize was an all expense paid journey to Italy to compete on the World Pizza Championships.
Over the subsequent couple of years, I labored on my system. I had a powerful grasp of meals and labor prices, centered on advertising and customer support, and located methods to make my enterprise not depend upon me to run it day after day. I employed two managers and paid them effectively (each of whom personal a number of Romeo’s Pizza shops right now). I additionally put collectively a really aggressive bonus program for them. One of many greatest keys to success I’ve discovered is to have a bonus program to your supervisor. My managers get bonuses primarily based on gross sales, labor price and meals price. This offers them a vested monetary curiosity in my enterprise, which is priceless. I like to pay bonuses! Managers that don’t bonus in my firm normally aren’t round lengthy. Get your individuals invested in your small business!
I spent about 4 years making an attempt to excellent my system, specializing in menu engineering, coaching applications, operations manuals and advertising applications. Throughout that point, I received the Finest Pizza within the Midwest at NAPICS once more, Finest Gourmand Pizza in America in New York Metropolis, and was featured on the Meals Community’s $10,000 Pizza Problem. I’ve gone to Italy to compete on the World Pizza Championships 7 occasions as a founding member of the World Pizza Champions. All through, my major focus was at all times constructing a system that may permit me to open one other retailer. I’ve recognized three of crucial areas I centered on that led to the expansion of Romeo’s Pizza. There are numerous different components, together with luck, however these three issues are completely crucial if you wish to develop your operation: • Defining your model advertising technique. • Making a system. • Private growth.
Defi ning Your Model Advertising and marketing Technique Since December of 2008, Romeo’s Pizza has grown from 10 shops to 31. Identical-store gross sales have risen 20 p.c month after month throughout that point. We’ve got overwhelmed down the $5 pizza guys, destroyed the “Purchase 1, Get 2 Free” guys, and have overcome an unprecedented advertising blitz this business has by no means seen earlier than by the Huge 3. So the massive query is how did we do it? What’s the magic button which you can push to make all of that occur for you and your small business? All of it begins with advertising. Model Advertising and marketing. Whereas a lot of the smaller pizza chains and independents stopped promoting through the recession, we truly spent probably the most we ever have. Extra importantly, we modified the best way we marketed. Being fed up with competing within the cash mailers and coupon books for the most effective deal, we stopped doing them. Promoting is simply a chunk of promoting. It isn’t the one factor. We started to deal with constructing our model. Branding is all about creating a picture of your organization that offers your clients and potential clients confidence that your organization and merchandise will meet or exceed their expectations each time. Advertising and marketing your model will proceed to pay you again lengthy after the coupons have expired.
Step one is to find out who you wish to be and create your model primarily based on the shoppers that you simply wish to appeal to. We wished to draw loyal, value-oriented (not value pushed) clients who admire high quality over rubbish — so we constructed our model round them. I ended utilizing coupons as my advertising technique and began to construct actual worth into our choices. I created package deal offers that may assist Romeo’s preserve our common ticket round $20. A few of the packages included a pizza with wings or a pizza with a salad, breadsticks and pop. We even had some two- and three-pizza packages. Lately, I created the “Romeo’s Pizza Construct Your personal Final Supreme Pizza” with as much as 5 toppings for under $13.99. It permits us to compete with the $10 value level and nonetheless preserve our place as a premium model. We’re going to really have it for a restricted time in order that our promotional value doesn’t develop into a everlasting value discount.
I firmly imagine that, as an business, we want cease reducing our costs. Pizza is the preferred meals in America, and probably the most economical for a household — but many people attempt to market solely primarily based on value. I inform clients all the time I might relatively clarify my value than apologize for my high quality, and irrespective of how massive we develop into, we’ll at all times use solely the absolute best substances on our pizza.
As soon as you establish what you need your model to face for, you will need to create advertising supplies that characterize that picture. We constructed menus, flyers, magnets, door hangers, menuboards and field toppers with the very best high quality paper and pictures, and put our model “look” collectively. Our menu is the second only advertising software we now have (our pizza is the primary). We try to draw individuals which can be loyal and aren’t afraid to pay for high quality; and all of our advertising supplies, particularly our menu, have to characterize that. I additionally insert our menus all over the place. At the moment, we insert our menu in those self same coupon books we shunned, however now we stand out. Our model advertising picture separates us from the barrage of coupons and low-cost pizzas, and has allowed us to develop our gross sales system-wide 20 p.c.
In your promoting you will need to talk your distinctive promoting proposition, or USP. What do you do this no one else can do or say? At Romeo’s, we use solely the most effective tomatoes from California, which go from the sector to the can in mere hours. We make our personal dough day by day by educated dough masters in every of the shops. We’ve got a specifically blended cheese made in Wisconsin utilizing provolone and mozzarella that’s used completely by Romeo’s Pizza. That’s the method we promote our model. What are you able to say about your pizza that both nobody else can say, or nobody else has mentioned? Lots of people use the identical sauce we use or get their cheese from Wisconsin. Lots of people make their dough contemporary every single day … The distinction is how we talk it to the shopper.
Keep in mind, promoting is simply a part of advertising (the costliest half!). Different areas of promoting we centered on have been lazy buyer playing cards, new mover applications, up-sell contests within the shops, native sponsorships and different unsolicited mail items particularly focused right down to the provider route for neighborhoods by which we wished a greater presence. We additionally give a menu and a magnet to each buyer, and we put field toppers and bounce-back coupons on each pizza. Quickly we’re beginning a rewards program that can be built-in with our POS system. I even have a weekly electronic mail that goes out to our database (and a textual content program as effectively).
The easiest way to win a buyer is to offer them a pizza totally free. We glance to offer our pizza away at as many locations as we will. I might relatively give a gaggle a bunch of pizzas totally free than attempt to promote them for 5 bucks every (as a result of I preserve my model picture and worth, and I do know that I’ll achieve clients for all times if they simply attempt it). Lots of people are afraid to attempt new issues, so you must make it very straightforward to attempt your pizza.
Advertising and marketing is the lifeblood of your small business, and it’s like a tree … it’s essential to water it to make it develop, not look ahead to it to develop after which water it. However your operations have to fulfill the guarantees that your advertising makes, and that’s the place making a system comes into play.
The subsequent space of focus for me was operations and making a system. I wished to have a really duplicable idea, and I spent 4 years making an attempt to excellent it earlier than I opened our second retailer. We continually attempt to enhance each side of our enterprise, so the work on the system is rarely achieved. A few of the areas that we addressed have been the look and look of the foyer, workers and meals. We’ve standardized and weigh each pizza, sub and pasta dish. We set a strict gown code for our administration and employees, and created and enforced an worker handbook. We additionally aligned ourselves with a POS system, which I really feel is totally crucial in duplicating your idea. I might by no means open a retailer with out a POS system.
We additionally spent a variety of effort and time on documenting the best way all the pieces is meant to be achieved. We created a meals prep guide that particulars find out how to make all the pieces we make, in addition to an operations guide, which particulars how we function a Romeo’s Pizza restaurant. Moreover, our worker handbooks element what is anticipated from every worker in writing earlier than they begin. My objective was to create a system that may run my shops, permitting me to work on my system. In case your retailer is determined by you to achieve success, then you definately haven’t created a powerful sufficient system and you aren’t able to develop. As we now have grown, I typically have to return and alter among the insurance policies and procedures, so I have a look at these manuals as a fluid doc that has the rigidity to run the shop, and but has the flexibleness to make modifications for the higher.
I attribute a variety of the expansion of Romeo’s Pizza to private growth. I imagine that with the intention to develop it’s essential to develop into a grasp of many abilities. You should perceive finance and accounting, you want to have the ability to rent and practice good workers, and it’s essential to develop into a powerful chief. You want to have the ability to calculate meals prices, create efficient promoting campaigns, and have the ability to hear alternative knocking. You additionally have to eradicate negativity and excuse making out of your vocabulary. All of those abilities may be discovered, and I centered lots by myself private growth. In case you are weak in these areas start investing in your self. Take a category, learn as many books as you possibly can, and attend Worldwide Pizza Expo 2011 subsequent March. Folks ask me on a regular basis if I ever thought Romeo’s can be this huge, and I can actually reply “sure.” I really believed we might.
I’ve tried to offer you a glimpse into the method I took to construct a profitable pizza firm. Our plans are to return and tighten up our system once more and add shops in 2011. We’re a number of DMA’s to develop and increase as we develop into a regional chain. Our objective for the subsequent 10 years is to have 1,000 shops. We may even develop same-store gross sales as we proceed rising externally by opening firm shops and franchising. You can also create the enterprise of your goals. Get began right now.
Each time I communicate on the Pizza Expo, invariably individuals ask me the identical couple of questions, however primarily it’s: “How did you do it?” The “it” is an incredible story of how I took Romeo’s Pizza from one to 31 shops over the past 5 years with 21 of them coming within the final 18 months. The easiest way for me to reply is to clarify the lengthy, arduous course of and the way it takes time, planning, and execution over a interval of years. So after I was requested by Pizza At the moment to put in writing an article detailing and recounting our phenomenal development through the worst recession in a long time, I used to be excited to share with you, the small impartial pizzeria proprietor, a narrative I hope conjures up and helps you develop your operation as effectively.
In 2001, I purchased a small mother and pop pizzeria in Medina, Ohio, referred to as Romeo’s Pizza. It was operated very poorly, however but nonetheless managed to do some good numbers and the pizza appeared fairly stable. This was my third pizza restaurant, and I seemed ahead to rising the enterprise. I tweaked the recipes, added higher administration and started to see a variety of potential. 4 months later, September eleventh occurred, and the world stopped. Gross sales dropped considerably as individuals started to expertise among the monetary uncertainty that’s nonetheless with us right now.
In March of 2002, I requested business marketing consultant Huge Dave Ostrander for some assist in making my idea duplicable. My objective was to open a number of Romeo’s Pizzas and presumably begin franchising, however first I needed to repair the areas of my operation that have been nonetheless damaged and high-quality tune the areas that weren’t. So Huge Dave invited me to the NAPICS meals present in Columbus, Ohio, to fulfill him, and instructed me to enter the pizza contest since I might be down there anyway. After dreaming that I received that evening, I entered the preferred of our pizzas The Butcher Store and proceeded to win first place! The prize was an all expense paid journey to Italy to compete on the World Pizza Championships.
Over the subsequent couple of years, I labored on my system. I had a powerful grasp of meals and labor prices, centered on advertising and customer support, and located methods to make my enterprise not depend upon me to run it day after day. I employed two managers and paid them effectively (each of whom personal a number of Romeo’s Pizza shops right now). I additionally put collectively a really aggressive bonus program for them. One of many greatest keys to success I’ve discovered is to have a bonus program to your supervisor. My managers get bonuses primarily based on gross sales, labor price and meals price. This offers them a vested monetary curiosity in my enterprise, which is priceless. I like to pay bonuses! Managers that don’t bonus in my firm normally aren’t round lengthy. Get your individuals invested in your small business!
I spent about 4 years making an attempt to excellent my system, specializing in menu engineering, coaching applications, operations manuals and advertising applications. Throughout that point, I received the Finest Pizza within the Midwest at NAPICS once more, Finest Gourmand Pizza in America in New York Metropolis, and was featured on the Meals Community’s $10,000 Pizza Problem. I’ve gone to Italy to compete on the World Pizza Championships 7 occasions as a founding member of the World Pizza Champions. All through, my major focus was at all times constructing a system that may permit me to open one other retailer. I’ve recognized three of crucial areas I centered on that led to the expansion of Romeo’s Pizza. There are numerous different components, together with luck, however these three issues are completely crucial if you wish to develop your operation: • Defining your model advertising technique. • Making a system. • Private growth.
Defi ning Your Model Advertising and marketing Technique Since December of 2008, Romeo’s Pizza has grown from 10 shops to 31. Identical-store gross sales have risen 20 p.c month after month throughout that point. We’ve got overwhelmed down the $5 pizza guys, destroyed the “Purchase 1, Get 2 Free” guys, and have overcome an unprecedented advertising blitz this business has by no means seen earlier than by the Huge 3. So the massive query is how did we do it? What’s the magic button which you can push to make all of that occur for you and your small business? All of it begins with advertising. Model Advertising and marketing. Whereas a lot of the smaller pizza chains and independents stopped promoting through the recession, we truly spent probably the most we ever have. Extra importantly, we modified the best way we marketed. Being fed up with competing within the cash mailers and coupon books for the most effective deal, we stopped doing them. Promoting is simply a chunk of promoting. It isn’t the one factor. We started to deal with constructing our model. Branding is all about creating a picture of your organization that offers your clients and potential clients confidence that your organization and merchandise will meet or exceed their expectations each time. Advertising and marketing your model will proceed to pay you again lengthy after the coupons have expired.
Step one is to find out who you wish to be and create your model primarily based on the shoppers that you simply wish to appeal to. We wished to draw loyal, value-oriented (not value pushed) clients who admire high quality over rubbish — so we constructed our model round them. I ended utilizing coupons as my advertising technique and began to construct actual worth into our choices. I created package deal offers that may assist Romeo’s preserve our common ticket round $20. A few of the packages included a pizza with wings or a pizza with a salad, breadsticks and pop. We even had some two- and three-pizza packages. Lately, I created the “Romeo’s Pizza Construct Your personal Final Supreme Pizza” with as much as 5 toppings for under $13.99. It permits us to compete with the $10 value level and nonetheless preserve our place as a premium model. We’re going to really have it for a restricted time in order that our promotional value doesn’t develop into a everlasting value discount.
I firmly imagine that, as an business, we want cease reducing our costs. Pizza is the preferred meals in America, and probably the most economical for a household — but many people attempt to market solely primarily based on value. I inform clients all the time I might relatively clarify my value than apologize for my high quality, and irrespective of how massive we develop into, we’ll at all times use solely the absolute best substances on our pizza.
As soon as you establish what you need your model to face for, you will need to create advertising supplies that characterize that picture. We constructed menus, flyers, magnets, door hangers, menuboards and field toppers with the very best high quality paper and pictures, and put our model “look” collectively. Our menu is the second only advertising software we now have (our pizza is the primary). We try to draw individuals which can be loyal and aren’t afraid to pay for high quality; and all of our advertising supplies, particularly our menu, have to characterize that. I additionally insert our menus all over the place. At the moment, we insert our menu in those self same coupon books we shunned, however now we stand out. Our model advertising picture separates us from the barrage of coupons and low-cost pizzas, and has allowed us to develop our gross sales system-wide 20 p.c.
In your promoting you will need to talk your distinctive promoting proposition, or USP. What do you do this no one else can do or say? At Romeo’s, we use solely the most effective tomatoes from California, which go from the sector to the can in mere hours. We make our personal dough day by day by educated dough masters in every of the shops. We’ve got a specifically blended cheese made in Wisconsin utilizing provolone and mozzarella that’s used completely by Romeo’s Pizza. That’s the method we promote our model. What are you able to say about your pizza that both nobody else can say, or nobody else has mentioned? Lots of people use the identical sauce we use or get their cheese from Wisconsin. Lots of people make their dough contemporary every single day … The distinction is how we talk it to the shopper.
Keep in mind, promoting is simply a part of advertising (the costliest half!). Different areas of promoting we centered on have been lazy buyer playing cards, new mover applications, up-sell contests within the shops, native sponsorships and different unsolicited mail items particularly focused right down to the provider route for neighborhoods by which we wished a greater presence. We additionally give a menu and a magnet to each buyer, and we put field toppers and bounce-back coupons on each pizza. Quickly we’re beginning a rewards program that can be built-in with our POS system. I even have a weekly electronic mail that goes out to our database (and a textual content program as effectively).
The easiest way to win a buyer is to offer them a pizza totally free. We glance to offer our pizza away at as many locations as we will. I might relatively give a gaggle a bunch of pizzas totally free than attempt to promote them for 5 bucks every (as a result of I preserve my model picture and worth, and I do know that I’ll achieve clients for all times if they simply attempt it). Lots of people are afraid to attempt new issues, so you must make it very straightforward to attempt your pizza.
Advertising and marketing is the lifeblood of your small business, and it’s like a tree … it’s essential to water it to make it develop, not look ahead to it to develop after which water it. However your operations have to fulfill the guarantees that your advertising makes, and that’s the place making a system comes into play.
The subsequent space of focus for me was operations and making a system. I wished to have a really duplicable idea, and I spent 4 years making an attempt to excellent it earlier than I opened our second retailer. We continually attempt to enhance each side of our enterprise, so the work on the system is rarely achieved. A few of the areas that we addressed have been the look and look of the foyer, workers and meals. We’ve standardized and weigh each pizza, sub and pasta dish. We set a strict gown code for our administration and employees, and created and enforced an worker handbook. We additionally aligned ourselves with a POS system, which I really feel is totally crucial in duplicating your idea. I might by no means open a retailer with out a POS system.
We additionally spent a variety of effort and time on documenting the best way all the pieces is meant to be achieved. We created a meals prep guide that particulars find out how to make all the pieces we make, in addition to an operations guide, which particulars how we function a Romeo’s Pizza restaurant. Moreover, our worker handbooks element what is anticipated from every worker in writing earlier than they begin. My objective was to create a system that may run my shops, permitting me to work on my system. In case your retailer is determined by you to achieve success, then you definately haven’t created a powerful sufficient system and you aren’t able to develop. As we now have grown, I typically have to return and alter among the insurance policies and procedures, so I have a look at these manuals as a fluid doc that has the rigidity to run the shop, and but has the flexibleness to make modifications for the higher.
I attribute a variety of the expansion of Romeo’s Pizza to private growth. I imagine that with the intention to develop it’s essential to develop into a grasp of many abilities. You should perceive finance and accounting, you want to have the ability to rent and practice good workers, and it’s essential to develop into a powerful chief. You want to have the ability to calculate meals prices, create efficient promoting campaigns, and have the ability to hear alternative knocking. You additionally have to eradicate negativity and excuse making out of your vocabulary. All of those abilities may be discovered, and I centered lots by myself private growth. In case you are weak in these areas start investing in your self. Take a category, learn as many books as you possibly can, and attend Worldwide Pizza Expo 2011 subsequent March. Folks ask me on a regular basis if I ever thought Romeo’s can be this huge, and I can actually reply “sure.” I really believed we might.
I’ve tried to offer you a glimpse into the method I took to construct a profitable pizza firm. Our plans are to return and tighten up our system once more and add shops in 2011. We’re a number of DMA’s to develop and increase as we develop into a regional chain. Our objective for the subsequent 10 years is to have 1,000 shops. We may even develop same-store gross sales as we proceed rising externally by opening firm shops and franchising. You can also create the enterprise of your goals. Get began right now.
