Summary Onboarding Session 1/2

During the first onboarding session we discussed best practices for enlisting restaurants. Below you'll find the summary of the onboarding.

In a nutshell

On 1 Sunday afternoon (12-17), 100 to 300 visitors from a premium target group visit 6 restaurants. Each restaurant showcases their venue with a signature dish (±125 grams), with a matching drink (125 ml), usually a glass of wine. 

Step by step process

1. Determine a date
   1. We need at least 12 weeks for ticket sales
   2. You’ll need at least 2 weeks (but usually 4), for the enlistment process
   3. Make sure you’re take any big events in the city into account
2. Create a shortlist
   1. List the best restaurants in the city
   2. Categorise by area
   3. Take walking distance into account: a complete circle should be 5km max
3. Acquisition best practices
   1. Try to get the big names on board first, it will make enlisting the next ones a lot easier.
   2. Show the restaurants who you’re inviting
   3. Well known names sell tickets, well sold events are more easily organised a second time
   4. Don’t go ‘one by one’: this will significantly slow you down and you won’t make the deadline: keep as many restaurants in your pipeline as possible
   5. Face to face meetings work better than phone calls
   6. Explain the concept in a specific order, to keep the focus on the marketing value, rather than the revenue
   7. Give restaurants a deadline for responding

Explaining the concept

1. The Restaurant Tour originated in the Dutch Restaurant scene in 2010, currently in 50 cities, about 550 restaurants and over 20.000 visitors yearly
2. Started as a form of ‘protest’ to the discount auctions like GroupOn or Social Deal
3. The mission:
   1. get the right crowd in the right restaurants
   2.  for free
4. How we reach the right crowd
   1. Ticket price is steep: £79. It’s not an event for bargain hunters. We do not give any discounts (except for agents and restaurateurs)
   2. Advanced digital marketing strategies (social and email), aiming at a specific audience: local foodies with money
   3. See infographic for a description.
5. How we keep the investment to a minimum for the restaurants:
   1. Timing: Sunday afternoon instead of Friday or Saturday night, to minimise lost revenue
   2. Presale only: advance ticket sales ensure a known attendee count.
   3. No last-minute orders or cancellations
   4. Standardised dishes and drinks: all guests receive the same dish and wine to streamline purchasing and minimise waste.
   5. Allergies are known in advance, and alternative dishes are provided.
   6. No sign up fee
   7. Majority of ticket sales goes to the restaurants (£8 per visitor per restaurant)
   8. Automated crowd control algorithm to ensure smooth flow of visitors
   9. Payment is done Monday after the Tour
   10. Credit invoice is supplied by organisation, to keep administrative burden to a minimum
6. How we help ensure success for the restaurants
   1. Participation is invite-only
   2. Selection of restaurants is done by local experts, to ensure an appealing line-up
   3. Extensive 1 hour, 1-on-1 onboarding session with the agent
   4. Food-drink coordination to prevent duplicates
   5. Dishes and drinks are not known in advance to the visitors to maximise flexibility
   6. Free app with all relevant event information
   7. 7 day per week live chat support through the website
   8. Visitor survey and evaluation in the week after the tour
7. What’s expected from the restaurants 
   1. Max 50 covers reserved for the visitors during the Sunday afternoon
   2. 2 weeks prior to the tour coordination of the dish and drink (no duplicates)
   3. Showcasing their restaurant to the best of their ability with:
      1. A signature dish of 125 grams approx
      2. Accompanied by a drink (preferably wine) of 125 ml
      3. A vegetarian alternative to cater to visitors with dietary restrictions