5 Reasons to Raise Your Prices

You’re Worth It. If your pizza is truly the best, your prices should reflect it. You won’t lose as many customers as you think, and the few you do lose will be replaced by those willing to pay more for quality.

Costs Keep Rising. The cost of everything around you is rising. If you don’t raise your prices, you’ll find it harder and harder to cover everyday expenses, including wages.

Growth Isn’t Free. If you want to grow your pizzeria, add new offerings and expand operations, you’ll need more capital. A price increase can help fund these dreams.

You’re Currently Undercharging. You’re probably undercharging for some—if not most—menu items. Average food cost is around 31%. Use an online Cost of Goods Sold calculator to figure out your average.

Customers Expect It. Everyone’s raising prices, not just you. Explain that these changes are necessary to provide the quality of food and service customers have come to expect. Who can argue with that?

7 Ways to Get Your Press Release Noticed!

1. Press releases must announce a timely event—a grand opening, new menu, anniversary bash—or the media won’t think it’s newsworthy.
2. Create a list of publications and editors to target with your release. Choose appropriate editors (food editors, lifestyle editors, etc.) for your news.
3. To get started, look for online templates that let you plug your info into them. Browsing what others have written will also help you perfect your style.
4. Editors receive a lot of mail and must skim over it, so put the most important information at the top. Focus on the “who, what, when, where and why” right away.
5. Include your contact information (email and phone). If an editor is interested in your story, he should be able to contact you immediately.
6. A press release with a relevant high-resolution photo is more likely to catch an editor’s attention, boosting your chances of getting featured in the publication.
7. Editors are busy people; if you haven’t heard back from someone in a week or two, it’s perfectly acceptable to send one quick follow-up email.

Building a Social Network Community

Social networking reflects a basic human longing for a sense of community. Help create that experience for your social media followers by engaging with them, quickly answering their questions, asking for their feedback and thanking them for their comments. Let your personality and sense of humor show in every post. If you’re just pushing out “sell” messages about your daily specials, your fans will soon get bored and tune you out.

Want more sales and marketing tips? Check out Liz Barrett’s weekly blog, The Pizza Insider (thepizzainsider.pmq.com)!