5 Simple Ways To Attract More Customers To Your Restaurant
One aspect of business, perhaps the most important, is getting as many customers as possible. Restaurants are no exception to this and in fact, the ability to attract customers is a measure of their success and reputation. So, without further ado, let’s look into five easy yet effective marketing strategies that are proven to get heads turning.
#1 Get Some Cool (Instagram Worthy) Photos
Everybody loves food that tastes good. But how do you get people to relish that phenomenal mouthwatering dish that you just added to your menu a week ago? Believe it or not, a photo that perfectly captures the essence of the dish can do wonders in your restaurant business. You don’t have to invest in buying an expensive camera or hiring a professional photographer. All it takes is a bit of research coupled with a few practice sessions to master the art of taking aesthetic photos of food with a device as simple as your smartphone.
What’s more, you don’t have to do this all by yourself. Fix up the decor and make that serving of food look absolutely stunning and you’ll see your customers clicking away to share photos of their food on Facebook or Instagram. You can even consider offering a reward for sharing your restaurant on social media (WAGA sushi for example gives 10% off on the bill when customers share photos on social media) and you can use the photos to update your website and social media.
#2 Appear on Local Search Engines
What’s the one most popular activity you see people engaging in a restaurant, besides eating, of course? An enormous proportion of people around the world would unanimously agree that browsing through their little supercomputers while eating has probably long surpassed social interactions that came along with dining. According to research conducted by British psychologists, most people spend about one third of the time they are awake on smartphones. While this may be detrimental to their social lives, here is an opportunity for all those restaurant owners — get yourself found in the most popular search engines. This simple yet effective strategy can work to great heights when it comes to swinging in heaps of customers. Millions of customers regularly use search engines and online directories like Google, Facebook, Yelp and TripAdvisor to search for restaurants with various attributes like proximity and cuisine. With Google now pushing for location based search results, it is highly recommended to create a free Google Business listing. So, don’t delay and get your restaurant a decent business page (don’t forget the contact details) with and boost your organic search results.
#3 Keep in Touch With Your Customers
So, you’ve established a great restaurant business and it’s doing fairly well in its early stage. But does that guarantee a prospective future? The answer depends on your long-term strategies and their potential to make customers want to be back. Providing impeccable dining experience and serving aesthetically pleasing dishes is not enough to retain customers. Building good customer relationships requires being in touch at times most special to the customer. Birthdays, for instance, are a great way to reconnect with old clients and offer them discounts, giving them the opportunity to celebrate with you and further invigorate the relationship. Using email marketing to let previous customers know about your special occasion promotions or any upcoming discounts and events (happy hour is particularly sought after) is a great way to keep them engaged and transform them into regulars.
#4 Reward Them
Did you spot a customer come back for the third time this week, only to get another cup of morning coffee? Your breakfast waffles are selling like hot cakes in the neighborhood? Well, this is the opportunity to reward your loyal customers. Loyalty program is a slick way of getting people hooked on to your menu and works best if you want to retain them for a long time. I mean, what’s better than receiving gifts after all that money, time and effort spent coming to your place.
No, I’m not talking about the outdated and boring hand designed and printed stamp cards. It’s time to go digital!
Loopy Loyalty allows you to design a digital stamp card in minutes and puts your restaurant alongside your customers’ credit cards in Apple Wallet and Google Pay without them having to download an app. You can even send targeted messages straight to your customers’ smartphone & lock screen or automatically trigger location based notifications when your restaurant is near a customer’s location.
The best part — no one will forget their loyalty cards back home anymore (unless they decide to leave behind their mobiles for the day).
Read more on 6 Reasons Why Your Loyalty Program Needs to be Digital
#5 Take Their Reviews Seriously
Yes, really seriously! That one bad review can hurt your business (more than you think), especially if you’ve only just entered the industry. Establishing a good customer review base and following can put you at an enormous competitive advantage from similar restaurants, placing it as the most sought after marketing strategy for restaurants all around the world. Online reviews and ratings, word of mouth and social media are some of the most convenient ways to grow customers at any stage of your business.
A few good reviews on TripAdvisor and Yelp can help you grow your online presence a great deal.
So, if a little investment in training staff and upgrading services and ambience can earn you that extra point and a couple of valuable reviews, it’s not long before you’ll want to be expanding to accommodate that extra crowd during peak hours.
