case studies

chilli and grille

Background

Jaz Boparai owns two restaurants in Barnsley; Chilli and Grille. They operate out of the same building in the heart of the town. Chilli offers contemporary Indian cuisine in chic surroundings, while next door Grille serves up ‘the ultimate steak experience’. The two restaurants share a diners-only champagne and wine bar, Chill.

Between them, the two restaurants have 165 covers. Typical table spend is around £50.

The Challenge

In the first quarter of 2009, both restaurants were weathering the recession well. They had maintained a good level of trade with only a 5% drop off in average revenues. Jaz wanted to recession-proof the business by developing a marketing strategy that would enable him to grow revenues by increasing the frequency of visits by current customers. He knew that he needed to build a database of his customers, and then seamlessly build a relationship with them, using regular communications.

Wanting to avoid the distraction of developing an in-house marketing team, Jaz looked to outsource and find someone who could do the work. That’s when he discovered the Explosive Marketing System for Restaurants.

The Success

The Explosive System gave Jaz the tools he needed to build his customer database quickly and easily. The waiting staff in each restaurant understand the importance of signing customers up the new VIP Member programme, and customers can sign up on the restaurant websites.

The result? Over 500 customers had been added to the new database within a few weeks of the Explosive System being launched in the restaurants. The VIP Member programme was well received by customers, with many of them returning within a month of signing up to redeem their first offer.

Jaz is focusing on running his restaurants and making sure that his customers get a great experience when they visit, safe in the knowledge that the Explosive System is maintaining his valuable database, and using it to encourage customers to return more often.

www.chillirestaurant.co.uk
www.grillesteakhouse.co.uk
www.chillchampagnebar.co.uk