How to ensure you make the most out of your digital marketing?
Have you ever wondered why some well-located restaurants have fewer customers compared to remotely located restaurants? Apart from their product differences, the other factor that plays a role is the ability to do online marketing. Better marketing generally brings more traffic to your store.
Here are 4 tips for improving your digital marketing skills!
1. Collection and utilization of customer data
Most restaurants within the consumer-based industry have a very similar issue; having little or no experience using customer databases to run their business. Collection and utilization of consumer data is the starting step for acquiring loyal customers in the F&B industry. There are many benefits to building and refining a customer database. You can effectively communicate with customers one-on-one, such as informing them of your latest deals, new product launches, location changes, etc. That enables your customers to keep themselves updated on new information about your store.
Here are some tips that could help you to get started:
Collecting customer information when they are in the middle of the meal is not advisable. They do not want to stop their meal just to fill in information for themselves. It’s a hassle. Instead, you could try setting up a simple landing page with a form submission mechanism to motivate them to join your online database. You could make it even easier for customers to join your database by putting a simple QR code on every table for them to scan with their phones.
Don’t only collect phone numbers but include their email addresses as well. With that, once you’ve planned your approach to communication, you can choose which one works better for your business.
Finally, collect customer data in a legal way. Ask for permission before signing them up, don’t just do it.
2. The use of social media
As a business owner, it’s important for you to understand the basic mechanics of digital marketing and how it can significantly improve your business. Social media these days has traffic that can never be beaten.
Apart from that, many customers use social media to look out for good food and restaurants. That makes social media a great asset in or to promote your restaurant. You can easily gain followers if you are consistently putting up content and engaging with your followers. The importance of social media for a business shouldn’t be taken lightly as it can assist in standing out from your competitors.
So how can a marketing strategy be implemented effectively on social media? Let’s see how.
Identify your strengths and emphasize them. You must be able to precisely pinpoint the selling point of your restaurant. Keep reminding your customers of all the selling points of your business by posting up content on your socials. It will encourage the mind of your customers to think about your business when they happen to see a business similar to yours.
Share content tailored specially for your business. Keep in mind, no matter how much quality your content possesses, putting up too many at one time is probably going to bore them. Besides pictures of your food and menu, you can share other related content such as customer reviews, stories of team members, event photos, and videos of cooking the food.
Develop a brand persona. When customer affection towards your product shifts towards your business brand, it shows growth.
3. Online reward giveaways
Many F&B owners give out rewards or bonuses for their online customers to motivate them into taking part in in-store events, be it online or offline. The prize value isn’t the only aspect needed to be focused ensure your customers’ engagement rate is high. The reward mechanism itself is highly valuable. A well-planned reward mechanism can ultimately convert your customers into loyal repeat customers.
Let us give you some tips on how to plan a successful reward mechanism.
The standard procedures in or to be eligible for rewards should be simple and clear. Try not to make your customers engage in your activities or events by needing to complete too many steps. Every additional step may greatly affect customers’ enthusiasm and interest to join.
Training your staff on ongoing events and promotions in your store is highly important. This is to avoid any unnecessary setbacks or issues that may cause embarrassment to your business and lower the bar of expectations from your customers.
4. Google Reviews
Everyone uses Google Maps these days. Whether to find directions to a specific store or to find new stores. When customers are looking for a store they like, reading the reviews is included in the consideration process.
The majority of customers who hear about your restaurant from either a friend, or after seeing your advertisement on social media, tend to automatically look up the restaurant on Google to look at your pictures, menu, and most importantly, your store review. The impact of negative reviews can be devastating for your business. Often, 1 negative review requires multiple positive reviews to turn the tables. Therefore, you need to give out the best food or service possible to avoid and reduce the rate of negative reviews.
Another notable reason why Google is a great place to promote your business is due to the growth of search keywords that include “xx near me” in recent days. When customers are in a new area, they want to make fast and quick decisions on what to eat. All customers have to do is pull up their phone and make a search on Google that says “restaurants near me”. If your business is located at an ideal location, the search engine will find its way to present your business to the users. Remember, exposure alone does not determine your success in this. Customers would usually read up on your business reviews on Google before deciding to visit you. In conclusion, taking your Google reviews lightly will not benefit your store.
Conclusion
The biggest advantage of having an online store for your F&B business is that the budget needed is controllable, and your target market can be segmented more accurately to help you grow your business. For instance, targeted advertisements can be posted on platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Instagram, tailored accordingly to your target market. This level of precision can never be achieved by the other traditional media industry such as newspaper and magazine companies. Summing it all up, digital marketing would do a great amount of justice for your business to grow.