Are there small business ideas?

I am looking for neat business ideas to boost an increase in costumers for a small town restaurant.?

• First a little history. We are from Tennessee. Back in the 1980's our family started a Catfish restaurant in Franklin, Tn. In the early 90's my family sold that place, and over the years have started very successful places. We only sold those successful places due to being in crowded areas and having the land being bought out by multi million dollar businesses. Today So after years of not having a restaurant, we opened one back in a small town, and people love it. Business is o.k., but we would like better than o.k. We are looking for smart , clever business ideas , that will get people coming in more. We have done some of the "normal" stuff. We created business cards and on the back had small values that people could use. We are thinking about supporting a Charity day, and supporting a cancer research team, and donating profits to charity. What are other ideas that you can come up with. I am looking for the witty, clever answers. Something that generates buzz about our place. To get people to realize that our Famous family restaurant recipes are back, and to get the buzz generated to the younger generation, and to get them in there as well. Some info you might need 1. We are a small place with 50 seats. 2. Its a homestyle atmosphere. We bring all of the food out on a big plate and allow them to pass around. 3. We have Catfish, Fried Chicken, Butterfly Shrimp, Country Fried Steak, Chicken Tenders, Hushpuppies, Wedgecuts, Slow Cooked White Beans, Creamy Slaw , Pickles and Onions on the menu. From Hushpuppies on ward its is ALL U CAN EAT SIDES. 4. We are in a very small town, although about 20 minutes from the city. Please send in your ideas. Generally Low Cost advertising ideas, Witty and clever. We need to generate buzz, and I know there is some good ideas, that my brain just can not come up with. Thanks for your help, time, and consideration into this request. Thanks, Matthew R.

• Answer:

  Here are a few ideas: *Do you have a website? You want to drive traffic to your site so that it ranks higher in Google when people search for restaurants. Optimize your site with onpage and offpage tactics like Google Local Search. Make simple YouTube videos of testimonials from customers, views of your restaurant and menu items, staff members, special occasions. Add a blog to your site and keep customers up-to-date on current happenings--Google loves blogs and video. *Use Twitter, Facebook, and perhaps MySpace. Create personalized graphics with your contact information on it. Have contests. *Email marketing - use a professional service to avoid spamming and costly errors. Capture emails and then send out specials, newsletter, updates on your charity information. Where is your restaurant? I just moved to MN after 20 years in Murfreesboro and LaVergne.