In this episode of "YouShouldTalkTo," our host Daniel Weiner chats with Joe Artime, VP of Marketing at Moe's Southwest Grill. As a VP, Joe knows that his job is all about finding the right balance between two extremes in order to get the job done. For example, when asked about the phrase ‘doing more with less,’ he encourages marketers to consider it a time for growth. While budgets are leaner, taking on a role that could bring incredible results to your team could be a great way to show off your skills to your team lead. This just might be the opportunity that you were looking for to prove how much of an asset you are.

Balance is a huge part of the job with both your internal team and your contracted team. Joe says that he appreciates when companies are upfront with their expectations during the pitching process. He prefers to know what is realistic before they start the project as opposed to finding out in the middle of it. Especially if it’s a budget issue.

But that doesn’t mean that he isn’t appreciative of risks. The biggest evolution that Joe has seen in consumer spending has been the changes to the delivery system. Restaurants were starting to build their own delivery system on their own websites rather than relying on the customer to always come to them. When COVID happened and delivery systems became a necessity, that nice-to-have tech became instrumental to a restaurant's success. Building your own delivery system rather than relying on in-person sales was a risk, but it proved itself at the end of the day.

Tune into Joe’s episode to hear more about how restaurant marketing has evolved over the last decade and what you can do to keep up with the changes as a marketer.

Guest-at-a-Glance

💡 Name: Joe Artime, VP of Marketing

💡Company: Moe's Southwest Grill

💡 Where to find them: LinkedIn

Key Insights:

Do the Numbers Work

Numbers and metrics are an important part of any marketing launch. But the right metrics are what put us over the edge. Keep track of the metrics your client actually wants you to measure. In the restaurant industry, Joe is looking for sales and traffic. No other metric are more important than sales and traffic metrics.

Evolution Post COVID

When asked about the biggest change he’s seen in consumer behavior both pre- and post-COVID, Joe’s answer was all about delivery systems. What used to be a nice-to-have was now a necessity. These new systems are here to stay, so now it’s his job to learn how to work with them.

Agency vs Client Expectations

We all want the best relationship with our agencies - and that starts with setting realistic expectations. Whether it’s budgeting or scope of work, Joe says he has to find the right balance between two extremes to get the job done. Once that’s done, the real work can begin.