Restaurant Strategy Podcast – "What is GOOD Marketing?" (January 15, 2026)

Host: Chip Klose
Episode Theme: Defining "good" marketing for independent restaurant owners and explaining how to build effective, profitable marketing strategies.

Episode Overview

In this episode, Chip Klose revisits the foundational question, “What is marketing?” and goes deeper to explore what “good” marketing looks like for restaurants. He unpacks the need for specificity, intentionality, and systematization in restaurant marketing, providing practical frameworks to move beyond random tactics toward predictable business growth and profitability.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Re-Defining Marketing

• Chip revisits his enduring definition of marketing, emphasizing clear, critical questions:
  • “What's your product?”
  • “Who is it for?”
  • “How do you reach them?”
• Quote:
  “That’s the definition I started using seven or eight years ago, and I’ve not changed it because I think it’s that good.”
  — Chip Klose [05:04]

2. Marketing Vs. Tactics and Advertising

• Marketing is NOT just posting on social media, sending emails, or creating business cards.
• Tools and channels are only useful within an intentional, overarching plan.
• Advertising is a subset—meant for broadcasting messages and reaching more people, embedded within a strategy with intent.

3. The Necessity of Specificity and Intention

• Aimless marketing (“spray and pray”) no longer works; algorithms and media have evolved.
• Effective marketing requires:
  • Purpose-driven actions.
  • Deep understanding of target audiences and their needs.
  • Systematic follow-through beyond the initial contact.

4. The Three Pillars: The Marketing Triangle

Referred to as Chip’s "Triangle Principle."

• Acquisition: Attracting new guests.
• Retention: Bringing guests back.
• Evangelism: Encouraging guests to share positive word-of-mouth.
  • Quote:
    “Attraction, retention, evangelism. How do we get people in? How do we get people back? How do we get people talking?”
    — Chip Klose [10:45]
• Each pillar requires tailored strategies and understanding of available marketing channels.

5. Systems and Goals in Restaurant Marketing

• Setting clear goals leads to establishing repeatable systems (the “flywheel” concept from Jim Collins’s Good to Great).
• Leaky buckets (no retention, no evangelism) waste money: focus not just on acquiring but maximizing Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).
  • Quote:
    “If I can get them back on average three to five times a year, well then maybe it would be worth then spending the money to get them to come in…”
    — Chip Klose [12:42]

6. Effective Use of Marketing Channels

• All channels (email, paid ads, business profiles, direct mailers) serve a distinct, measurable purpose.
• Good marketing aligns each channel/tactic to acquisition, retention, or evangelism objectives.
• Knowing your numbers and ROI allows you to invest smartly in acquisition.

7. Building Profitable, Scalable Marketing Systems

• Repeatable processes create scalability—from one location to many.
• Good marketing systematically increases profitability and builds lasting brand evangelism.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Defining Core Marketing:
  “Marketing is about having a foundational plan in place, understanding who you’re trying to reach, who you’re trying to serve, what they need, and how you can convince them that you have what they need.”
  — Chip Klose [05:44]

• On the Danger of One-Off Tactics:
  “Without understanding the way social media platforms work and how those algorithms are built, it lacks intention.”
  — Chip Klose [07:01]

• Establishing the Marketing Triangle:
  “There are really only three things you need to accomplish to successfully market a restaurant: acquisition, retention, evangelism.”
  — Chip Klose [10:25]

• Value of Lifetime Customer:
  “If I got a leaky bucket... I’m spending a lot of money to get somebody to come in one time. But if I can get them back on average three to five times a year... then the lifetime value of the customer is such that it’s worth me spending the money...”
  — Chip Klose [12:23]

• Foundational Summary:
  “Marketing are those three questions. Good marketing is about understanding that marketing triangle. What do we need to do to bring people in the front door? ...to get them to come back? ...to make sure everyone goes and raves about us to their family and friends?”
  — Chip Klose [15:18]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:10] — Re-defining marketing: three essential questions
• [05:44] — Differentiating marketing from tactics & tools
• [07:01] — Pitfalls of “spray and pray”; need for intention
• [10:25] — Introduction of the Marketing Triangle Principle
• [12:23-13:10] — Customer lifetime value, leaky bucket metaphor, and profitability
• [15:18] — Recap: Good marketing’s requirements and the pathway to profitability

Tone and Style

Chip Klose’s tone is direct, informative, and practical, with a motivating, action-oriented energy. He blends high-level strategy with straightforward advice, often drawing on personal experience and clear examples that resonate with independent restaurant owners.

Takeaways for Restaurant Owners

• Don’t default to tactics—build your marketing on a clear, three-question foundation.
• Approach every channel and activity with purpose and targeted goals.
• Implement repeatable systems for attracting, retaining, and empowering guests as advocates.
• Track and understand your numbers so investments in marketing can be confidently scaled for profit.
• Good marketing is systematic, intentional, and focused—never a random collection of activities.