The Perfect Recipe For Success In the Restaurant Industry
Unlock the future of restaurant marketing with omnichannel customer experience.
Consumers are expecting to interact with brands seamlessly online and offline and they expect the same experience from their favorite restaurants.
If you want to stay ahead of your competitors, you need to be present at all touch points throughout the entire customer journey:
Get Them In the Door
The decision-making process starts before customers walk into your restaurant. Reach your customers through a variety of touch points to get them in the door.
Review Sites
More and more people are using online reviews to help them choose where they’re going to dine.
In fact, research has found that a one-star increase in a restaurant’s Yelp rating is correlated with a 5 to 9% increase in revenue.
Establish a presence on restaurant review sites such as Yelp and TripAdvisor. Be proactive in addressing feedback and encouraging your customers to leave a review.
Social Media
Social media is another channel to boost word-of-mouth buzz.
According to Forrester, 34% of diners use information on social media to aid decision-making.
In addition to establishing a social media presence by posting regularly, make sure to monitor mentions and interact with your followers to build relationships.
Mobile Marketing
When your customers are in the vicinity of your restaurant, why not offer a deal to entice them to pay a visit?
By combining geofencing technology with customer profiles, you can deliver relevant offers to customers who are in the area and therefore more likely to visit your establishment.
Online Booking
Don’t make your customers wait!
Integrate with online booking services so you can provide timely and prompt services when customers arrive at your restaurant.
Serve Them What They Want
When customers are in your restaurant, use a combination of in-person interaction and mobile technology to enhance their experience.
Personalized Service
Note down customers’ preferences in their profiles so servers can personalize the interactions while addressing individual preferences and dietary restrictions.
For example, instead of “what would you like to drink?” a server may ask, “would you like a glass of the red wine that you had when you were here last week?”
Order Customization
Allow customers to “build their own order” by choosing from a set of ingredients for their orders either on their phones or via a tablet provided by the restaurant.
For returning customers, you can display a list of their favorite ingredients or dishes to facilitate the process.
Nutritional Information
More and more customers are concerned about the nutrition of their foods.
Make it easy for them to get such information while they’re ordering, e.g., you can create a mobile app with all the data, or include QR codes on the menu for customers to scan and get the information.
Easy Payment
Note down customers’ preferred payment method to facilitate checkout, e.g., using a credit card on file or mobile payment.
Keep Them Coming Back
The interaction with your customers doesn’t end when they finish dining. Continue to build relationships through mobile technology, social media, and targeted advertising.
Loyalty Program
Customer spending increases by 15% when diners redeem a loyalty incentive and by 72% when they’re stretching to reach their next reward.
Use online and mobile technology to help customers track loyalty points — not only is it more convenient but you can also increase engagement by rewarding other interactions such as social sharing.
Personalized Email Campaigns
Build single customer view profiles and use the information to inform your email marketing campaigns.
Send relevant content and deals to your customers to entice them to return to your restaurant.
Targeted Ads
Segment your audience and targeted online ads to promote special offers to your existing customers, leveraging information from your customer profiles to deliver the most relevant deals.
Conclusion
Even though the restaurant industry is still very much a brick-and-mortar business, you have to meet the customers where they’re at by being present on all channels where they interact with brands.
By employing an omnichannel marketing strategy, you’ll be able to attract more customers, increase their dining frequency, improve customer satisfaction, and increase loyalty.
