Cornerstore Strategy takes a ‘gig’ approach with marketing services for restaurants, bars and cafes

For the small independent businesses that have historically relied on classic marketing strategies like newspapers and radio advertising to drive foot traffic and sales, it can be nearly impossible to compete with larger, faceless corporations with in-house ad agencies and marketing budgets in the hundreds of millions. 

Enter Ohio-based Cornerstore Strategy, which utilizes new technologies and approaches to overcome the limitations of costly, traditional marketing projects and market research. It was founded by a former brand manager and marketing director with experience in new product development, food & beverage and consumer goods. The start-up seeks to deliver consistent insights and guidance in the most cost-effective way possible. The company offers a range of customized marketing services—or individually priced project-based ‘gigs’—for independent restaurants, coffee shops, bars and even yoga studios.

Perhaps the most unique gig offered is a menu engineering analysis, which has been shown to help restaurants and other small businesses increase their profits by as much as 15% by understanding the underlying costs and contributions of each menu item and making  adjustments in menu pricing, layout, descriptions and design; all factors that  subconsciously influence the decisions of customers.

Another gig provides predictive eye-tracking analysis which can provide small business owners with valuable insights about what is mostly likely to catch customers’ eyes on a product package, shelf, menu or advertisement. For businesses looking to drive publicity and word-of-mouth marketing, the firm offers an online press release writing & distribution gig which includes syndicated distribution to over 400 online sites.

For businesses seeking services outside of the standard gigs, such as for custom market research, Cornerstore Strategy’s pricing structure includes individual company consultations or project-based pricing, which typically starts at $100 per hour.

Depending on the service, there is also a sliding scale for start-up businesses who aren’t yet “established enough” to warrant such a high hourly rate. In time, the company plans to expand into new services including digital marketing, website design, copywriting and content creation.

See the full details of Cornerstore Strategy’s marketing gigs at cornerstorestrategy.com/services

About Cornerstore Strategy

Cornerstore Strategy is a marketing consultancy based in Columbus, Ohio. We seek to make corporate marketing best practices accessible to independent restaurants, bars and coffee shops. Cornerstore Strategy offers a wide range of marketing services including menu engineering, pricing analysis, market research, trends analysis, and PR/publicity.