Eating will never go out of style. But that doesn’t mean you can simply assume your restaurant will always be busy. Naturally, people have many options when it comes to meal time. What separates your establishment from all the rest? Especially with such occasions as Mother’s Day and the Victoria Day long weekend on the horizon, it’s wise to employ some marketing strategies that will help to lure customers into your eatery for celebrations.
Here are four marketing strategies that can help your restaurant to stand out:
1. Repost customer pictures and posts.
The ways in which you interact with people through social media go a very long way. Today’s consumers place a lot of emphasis on customer experiences. When you engage with your online followers and friends, those interactions help to promote a positive brand image. To encourage hungry consumers to visit your restaurant, be sure to show those friends and followers some love. Reposting their posts is a great way to grow relationships.
“If a customer tags your restaurant in a picture of their beautiful meal, repost it to show some love,” agrees Stephanie Schalow of SevenRooms, “Make sure you give proper photo credit on the post, and be sure to reach out to them via direct message to thank them personally as well. This one-to-one form of restaurant marketing can help you build loyalty with your biggest brand advocates.”
2. Establish a loyalty program.
It’s a good time to promote a loyalty program for your restaurant since this forthcoming Victoria Day long weekend should be a busy one. By introducing a loyalty program, you will encourage continued patronage from a sizeable audience. As Mel Watson plainly puts it on GourmetMarketing.net, a loyalty program is a fantastic way to get your customers to come back again and again.
“The key here is to make the program feel rewarding whenever your customers use it,” Watson explains, “They should feel like they’ve joined an exclusive club when they sign up for it, and it should encourage them to visit again and again. It should also be interesting or unique enough to advertise about it on social media, yelp or with large posters inside of your restaurant.”
3. Put out a press-worthy story.
While social media is all the rage, traditional media are still receiving a lot of attention. Of course, in many cases, the two are one and the same. So what can you do to get some media attention? Schalow suggests that you host a special event and pitch the story to news sources.
“Good restaurant marketing is all about driving awareness for your brand,” she insists, “Have an upcoming event, exciting promotion, soon-to-be opened restaurant, or a new chef? Share it with local publications and even some of the bigger players...You’d be surprised how much buzz they can generate, helping drum up excitement for your latest offering.”
4. Make it easy for customers to pay at the table.
The sleek dual-screen smart payment terminal from Unity Payments can help you to do that! Equipped with our POS solution, your restaurant can optimize the checkout process, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty and drive revenue growth. To learn all about it, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761 or email us at [email protected].
