Nightclub and Bar Show: Build Brand Ambassadors of Your Restaurant or Bar (For those interested, or in, the industry)

This was the last class I took during the Nightclub and Bar show and one, if not the – most engaging. For our readers in the winery, bar or restaurant industry from Eve Bushman Consulting we share:

Create Engaged Employees to Build Brand Ambassadors for Greater Awareness for Your Restaurant or Bar

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Photo credit: Edward Bushman

Speaker James Feldman, Chief Innovation Officer, James Feldman Associates, Inc.

Feldman engaged his audience within seconds of his prepared lecture. He had us on our feet, doing a little test to illustrate how well we adapted to change and listened to instructions. (And yes, I had a wee bit of trouble with it. He singled me out a couple of times after that, teasing me and then rewarding me with a free 3-day trip. Read on to see how this tactic can engage a person, and make them your fan.)

If you looked around the room all you saw were smiling faces. Not one person was looking down at their cell phone. Everyone stood.

So think, what can you do to engage your staff?

  • Provide lots of training, offer benefits and positive reinforcement. Why? Because in the long run it costs less than replacing employees.
  • Millennial aged employees want gadgets and not always just money as a reward. Look at the latest technology for what’s hot now and affordable for you.
  • Recognize and Reward good work.
  • Create the end result first – and then design your path to get there.
  • Don’t unknowingly create tension.

    (Look at how your staff responds when you speak to them.)

  • Let your team create contests and have your customers vote on them.
  • Be supportive, not disruptive.
  • Detect the positive capabilities in your staff, and use them.
  • Measure level of employee engagement and likelihood of retention by: their overall job satisfaction, productivity, quality of peers they get to work with, if they recommend your company and think they work in a great place.
  • An engaged employee is the best employee.
  • Put your employees in positions of influence. (I’ve actually titled created positions where there weren’t any previously.)
  • Reward them, and share their accomplishments on your social media.
  • Promote and manage whenever you find an employee simply Being Helpful.
  • Fact: 66% of all millennials will quit their current job by the year 2020. So what to do? Bonus those that you want to stay now, well before 2020.

  • Get your logo on everything, give that personalized swag to your staff to proudly wear on and off duty. That’s called a Walking Billboard for your business.

I had a lot of handwritten notes, and even more photos of slides that were used during all presentations, if anyone needs more please contact Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits. You can also seek her marketing advice via Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com