For a large number of consumers, summer is prime time for eating out. Statista research found that 48 percent of consumers say they dine out more in the summer than in any other season. So before the season wraps up, make the most of the opportunities it can provide to elevate your restaurant online for the public in the months ahead. There’s no promotion better than an authentic testimonial from a guest, so consider where you can accumulate user-generated content – to include photos, video and audio created by guests based on their experiences with your restaurant. Are your guests already posting about your restaurant on social media? Modern Restaurant Management advises restaurants put a mechanism in place to gather what guests post in one place so it can build some momentum around your brand. Develop a contest or other promotion and create a branded hashtag that you ask your guests to use when sharing content about your restaurant. Launch a food photography contest or name-the-new-cocktail contest and give the winner a free appetizer or drink, along with promotion on your social media channels and other marketing outlets. Your loyal guests are your restaurant’s best ambassadors. How can you channel their enthusiasm for your restaurant into promotions that can bring other guests back after the season has ended? For better or worse, we’re all tethered to our phones. So why not use this to your advantage? According to research from the Local Project, text is the most commonly used form of communication for American adults under 50. The online marketer 99Firms found that the open rate for text messages is 99 percent, as compared to 17-28 percent for emails. Texts get attention, yet according to the communications firm MessageDesk, only 60 percent of marketers use them to interact with guests and build stronger connections with them. Consider the potential uses of text in your business. The Rail suggests using text to share discounts and specials, personalized promotions, loyalty rewards updates, and survey requests. You could also harness text to manage communications about reservations, send guests updates about the availability of their table, or to streamline curb-side pickup. At a time when restaurant operators are concerned about cutting costs where possible, texting is a cost-effective way of reaching guests at scale and targeting them with segmented messages. They are also easy to automate, so you’re setting yourself up to connect with guests on auto pilot. Just make sure you’re not bombarding your recipients with messages and that the ones you send contain information that’s actionable and valuable. |
Subscribe to our newsletterArchives
March 2024
Categories
All
|