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Available - Interest Free Loans for Cash Poor Restaurant Operators
by Chuck Gohn

A gift certificate sale is like an interest free loan.

Think about it. Customers give you hard cash in exchange for a piece of paper that may or may not be redeemed at some future date. In the meantime, you have free use of their money to purchase inventory, pay the rent, or help make payroll. Too bad your banker isn't as generous.

So why do so many restaurateurs shy away from aggressively marketing gift certificates? I suggest that many operators view gift certificate sales as a high risk, low benefit venture. Consequently they budget little or no advertising dollars to promoting gift certificates, and they make purchasing them as convenient for their customers as a trip to the DMV.

The full version of this article is now available on Restaurant Report's membership site RunningRestaurants.com.

Click here to go to the article page.