Communication is one of the most important elements within the restaurant industry. It’s critical to communicate changes that affect your restaurant proactively across all customer-facing platforms to build customer trust and peace of mind. Explain all the precautions you are taking to keep your customers safe when they order from you. Tell your customers what you know and what you don’t. Make sure you have reliable sources of information. Just be truthful and tell them what you’re doing to keep business going.
Revamp Your Website Make a list of what has worked and what hasn't, make sure all of your information is up to date, your photos are current, and your website is mobile and desktop friendly. Consider your customers: would they wish to be notified about upcoming special events? Do you capture emails? Do you offer gift cards? What do you have a reputation for? Does your USP shine through? Perform a Full Website Audit First step is to go through your website. Then update and optimise your My Google Business Profile – to begin, login in to your Google account, hit your profile image in the top right corner, and then pick "Your Business Profile" Scroll sideways in the tab selector bar and press About. Tap a description to make changes, such as updating restaurant hours and whether you're offering takeaway or delivery. Marketing Ideas While ensuring the safety and health of you and your team is paramount, the next step is to get creative and develop a strong customer engagement plan. Show customers, your restaurant is fully committed to ensuring their safety by choosing to take extra precautions to ensure the safety of both your staff and guests, it will be noticed and appreciated by both your staff and the customers you serve. Show You’re Safe Wearing a badge including the waiter's name and temperature not only reassures guests but is also a great way to promote your brand to your customers. Not only marketing your restaurant as a safe environment also ensures your employees create a great first impression. Special Events Customers dine out with specific goals in mind: to enjoy themselves, treat themselves, and try things they wouldn't be able to create at home. Desserts always convey degrees on indulgence. Dessert will be a hit if you know what sweets go well with your other menu items and fall into a pricing range that suits the rest of the customer's experience. Share the recipe and how to make it on social media. The beauty of a dessert menu is that it can be modified and adapted to meet the needs and expectations of your guests. Feel free to experiment with fresh ideas to determine what works best and what your customers enjoy. Not being able to visit a favourite restaurant, meet up with friends and family, or travel on vacation, minor indulgences are now valued. Can guests order special cakes or meals or drinks for themselves or someone they want to celebrate? Tell guests you’re here to help, a handwritten gift tag, is a nice touch too! Share Share Share Creating new material regularly is one of the finest strategies to boost your restaurant's internet presence. Customers and potential customers are now spending more time online than ever before and are hungry for new things to watch and read, making now a wonderful moment to do so. Share your restaurants story, talk about the epidemic and what you're doing to keep your staff and public safe (if you are still operating). These stories are typically engaging and may even entice them to come to your restaurant. Consider including bios of your chef and staff. Before posting on social media, always make a plan. Don't just grab your phone and start posting, create content that suits your brand and goal! Proven Content That Works Share your favourite recipes or tutorials. You should also be aware that even if you provide a recipe for a popular dish, there is a good probability that people will not be able to replicate what you do at your restaurant. When you re-open, encourage guests to come and see how their cooking compares to the "real thing" Create an online cooking lesson. This is a practical technique to engage. You have the option of a live or pre-recorded session. Some classes can be tailored specifically for children, appealing to parents who are looking for creative methods to keep their children occupied after school. Both your competence AND your generosity are on full display when you do this. Give Back Let customers know if you're helping to assist your community. Performing an act of kindness is not only wonderful for your community, but it's also a fantastic way to promote your restaurant. Plan Your Return Everyone is eager to do the things they normally did, such as going to restaurants. Take advantage of this enthusiasm and start making plans to return! Creating a special tasting menu or booking live entertainment for a re-opening party will help keep your business front of and assist to boost revenue. Begin by developing a list, consider what is possible, and then inform customers of your plans. When it comes to reopening your restaurant following a coronavirus outbreak, there is a lot to consider. Contact angela@eyecontactmarketing.com for assistance in developing your business reopening strategy.
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Online ordering - The food delivery trend is exploding and for good reason. With new indoor dining restrictions, online ordering especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, has gone from a desirable convenience to an absolute must for restaurant survival. So, how do you make sure your guests know about your online food delivery service? How do you entice them to order again and again
Below we give you some inspiration and ways you can promote, increase orders and build strong customer relationships, even at a distance.
Over to You - The key lies in experimenting with all the ideas mentioned above, measuring the results and determining what works best for you. Below, we recently created a promotional calendar you can use for your restaurant, not only for profit, but to create excitement. We want to help make sure your restaurant is prepared! Get the Calendar to help you;Customer Database One of the most important marketing activities for restaurants (and most small businesses) is Data collection! This is the first stage of the direct marketing journey and the gateway to engaging and bringing new guests into your venue. Customers are more likely to respond to messages that they have agreed to receive and that are customised according to their individual preference. Loyalty Programs for restaurants have been around long before the migration to mobile platforms. Restaurants had been successfully using punch cards to build a regular customer base, however, with convenient email automation on a mobile platform and with 69% of consumers claiming their choice of restaurant may be influenced by where they can earn rewards. It is evident that loyalty programs are here to stay compared to other marketing strategies. With the database created through the loyalty program, restaurant owners can create a happy dining experience for their customers. Restaurants can send newsletters and exclusive offers, which could include offering opportunities to try out a new entrée dish for example before it is introduced to the menu. You will also be front of mind with your customers, and they will be more inclined to share your specials, generating word of mouth for your business in the process. In fact, loyal customers not only buy more frequently, they usually spend more! Let’s take a look at some popular techniques; Fishbowl Right venue these work well! Simply place a large vessel (fishbowl) on the bar or other visible location and invite your customers to leave a business card or contact email/phone number. It’s handy to have a pen and paper in the area too, for those not equipped with their own cards. This is by far the simplest method of data collection and possibly the cheapest. Takes things a step further by offering your customers a chance of Winning a bottle of wine or bubbly! And the winner is… make sure you tell them you will have ready on ice for them when they next dine in. What are you waiting for? Web sign up Without a doubt this is a must have for any restaurant website. Quick and easy to set up, Eye Contact Marketing can have this up and running in your style in no time at all. Once it is set up customers are automatically added to your database, and if you are with Eye Contact Marketing, customers automatically receive a follow-up email for a bounce back. Social Media Is an essential part of the marketing mix but in the hospitality sector, this is particularly true. It’s a great way to engage with customers, promote events and best of all we can manage this for you. One challenge here is these customers may not be part of your database so will be missing out on your monthly email newsletter, however at Eye Contact Marketing we can create a competition or promotion exclusively for your Facebook ‘fans’. For every customer that takes up your offer or enters your competition, if you are using Eye Contact Marketing they will be automatically added to your database and receive a thank-you email. Hey presto. Comment cards Tried and tested the world over. These are ideal for gathering feedback from your customers after a meal. Present at the table to every guest with a pen - you are sure to get a good response. You will need to add these to your database manually but there is no doubting the value of the quality of the feedback you’ll receive. Contact us here at Eye Contact Marketing, we’ll coach you and your staff the exact technique to selling at the table every step of the way! The key to success with collecting data in-house is staff participation. If you already have comment cards in place at your restaurant, make sure they are being implemented faithfully. If you don’t have cards in place, get them, reach out to us at Eye Contact Marketing and we’ll create them for you! A great way to encourage staff to collect is to set up a competition with a prize for the staff member that collects the most customer cards. The more involved the staff feel and the more they talk to customers about the benefit of the email newsletter, the more effective the data collection process will be. Team them up with someone in the kitchen so they don’t miss out either. Reward them with a meal at the restaurant, supermarket gift card or a movie ticket. Creating a Customer Database is a valuable activity in your restaurant and a true asset, imagine being able to fill a place on a quiet night at the touch of a button!! Large or small, you simply must have comment cards in place. Don’t forget! It’s easier (and cheaper) to market to existing customers than to new ones. Contact us here at Eye Contact Marketing we’ll coach you every step of the way! Categories All |
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