4 ways to keep your restaurant packed with customers even on slow days. These simple strategies will allow you to reach out to the people that carry mobile devices. Everyone these days carry their smartphone everywhere they go. You have to reach out to these folks and give them the service they want.
Naturally, to keep your restaurant packed with customers your food better be good, you must provide great customer service, clean restaurant to include the restrooms and you need to build your brand in your local area.
When people are looking for a restaurant they jump right on their smartphone. New folks coming to your restaurant will read your reviews. Some folks come to your restaurant because you already gave them a warm fuzzy feeling and they like the atmosphere. These are the folks that keep coming back.
They are also the ones that you should be able to get a great review from. Reviews are very important. They will help you with your ranking in the local SERPs. These good customers are also the ones that refer more business to your establishment. They will help you keep your restaurant packed with customers.
You should be building an email list and offer those folks coupons that invite other folks to your restaurant. Like bring your mom to dinner and get her a meal on us or at half price. Another example is parties of 4 adults get a free appetizer. Just get a little creative. You can also use social media to spread the word.
Restaurants Should Use Google My Business
Now the first thing that you will need to do to keep your restaurant packed with customers is to claim your Google my business listing. It’s free and easy to get your business listed with Google.
You want to be able to be found on the local 3 pack or the local maps.
You will want to ensure you fill out every possible item that is offered by Google. That will include posting a video about your restaurant. Another great way to get reviews is with a live testimonial from a customer at your restaurant.
Ask people if they would like to be in your mini YouTube commercial?
A 30-second testimonial and you can be in the video with them.
You will want to post that video on your google my business account. Google loves the content on their products. You can also post it on YouTube. Use keyword phrases in your video.
Posting pictures of your customers as soon as the food has arrived not only shows off your meals but connects with people that are looking for a great place to eat.
Make sure your information stays updated. Especially during any holiday season where you may have extended your hours. Don’t forget to use your email list to bring customers in on your slowest days.
You can even post a coupon of some sorts on your google my business page. Use an image to get the message out.
We have seen so many restaurant owners not claiming their google my business listing that we just cannot imagine why. It’s a free service offered by Google. Simple and an easy way to market your local business. It’s also a great place to post your reviews.
Video Marketing Will Keep Your Restaurant Packed
Video marketing for restaurants is one of the easiest ways to keep customers coming to your establishment. It’s a great way of showing off your brand. Videos are also easy to way to show up in the organic search listing that will help you drive traffic to your location.
When you start producing these videos you will want to show folks your staff, the front of your location, your food and even try and get reviews using videos as we talked about earlier.
Keep your video library updated and you can also use these videos as little internet billboards on social media. Another way-way to communicate with your customers is by using video.
Just break out your email list and send your customers an invite to your place of business in a creative fashion. Let’s say Tuesday’s are your slowest day. Send your email list a video an offer them some type of special. You can have a lot of fun doing this and you can even get your employees in on the action.
Don’t worry about spending a ton of money on your video equipment. You can simply use a good smartphone to get you started. Animated videos are another way of getting the word out. They are cost effective and great content that people will enjoy. You can send a simple message with these type of promotions.
You probably already know that video marketing for restaurants is the hottest trend going on in the marketplace. Take advantage of this and just be a little creative. A 30-second video can go along way and bring customers to your business.
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Social Marketing Will Keep Your Restaurant Packed
Social media marketing for restaurants is another way to drive customers to your business. Getting likes, shares and getting reviews is pretty easy once you get your staff in on the action.
By using your staff you can gain many new customers and build your likes on social media. Don’t forget about all those smartphone users. Just look around on peoples social pages. They share when they eat and dine.
They take selfies with the food they are eating. Their friend’s share these experiences on their social pages. It’s an unlimited resource to build your brand as well as gaining more customers.
You will want to use a lot of images on social media. Remember a picture says a thousand words. Another thing that you will want to do is use those videos on social media. Example ask a customer if they mind sharing their experience at your restaurant.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones would you mind if we take a video of you being served your dinner on a video. If you do that for us you can share it on your social pages. Is that OK? Plus to top it off if you give us a positive comment we will give you your dessert at half price. What do you think? Wait for an answer.
You just got a testimonial and a review. Post it to your google my business page. Share it on social media. All you need to do is get a little creative. Train your staff to do the same.
Use video for special events. It’s your customers birthday. Wow, a great time to take a video and share it on social media. Get everyone involved and do a little singing. Nothing wrong with making someone’s day Happy Birthday to you.
Social WiFi Marketing Will Provide Data To Help You Market Better
People that carry smartphones are always looking to save money on their data plans. That is why they are always looking for a WiFi. You may already be offering free WiFi. It just becomes part of the expense of doing business.
Most restaurants are now offering FREE WIFI. You may even be offering free cable TV service. You can bet your competition down the street is offering these services. Mobile has become a way of life. Everyone expects you to cater to your smartphone users.
Since you need to offer these services and you are not getting any return on your investment why not offer Social Media WiFi Marketing to your customers. Instead of you providing your customers with a password to login to your system you let them login in with their favorite social media site.
It’s simple and at the same time you can set it up so that you can get a like for offering your services. Using these type of platforms also allow you to gather information and build your list. Remember the money is in the list.
Social Media WiFi Marketing also allows you to use the data and provides you with opportunities to market to your mobile audience. It also gives to a way to to get more likes, shares and even reviews. Now by using a social WiFi marketing system, you have an opportunity to reach a larger audience.
When you turn your free WiFi into a social media marketing system it will start to pay for your WiFi services. It will take a little time to build it up but it gives you many benefits that can pay you dividends. These systems are very inexpensive and you can get detailed reports to help with your marketing efforts.
Keep Your Restaurant Packed And Get More Reviews
Just by using these 4 methods you should be able to keep customers coming into your establishment on a daily basis. Make sure you’re using the platform provided by Google for your business. Keep it updated.
Take advantage of the hottest trend right now by using videos in your marketing efforts. Use videos for reviews, sending emails and for little billboards on social media sites.
You cannot ignore social media. Everyone is using to stay in touch, shop, get information and even find reviews. They take advice from their friends. They share where they go and who they were with. Take advantage of this resource to get more customers.
Social media WiFi marketing gives you the ability to collect data. Data that you can use for marketing. It also gives you a way of getting more likes, followers, shares, and even more reviews.
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Thanks for stopping by. We hope you gather some great ideas and would like to ask you a small favor. Drop down below and leave a positive comment. Tell us about some of the things you are doing to keep customers coming back to your restaurant.
Thank You.
Nice article. You mention building your list. It’s not just that (which is great), but you will also be building pretty detailed customer profiles at the same time. It’s like real-time market research on ACTUAL customers. Invaluable! Then you can segment and market away!
Great point Allen. Yes, by segmenting your list into smaller groups you can have more effective conversion rates. You’ll also more than likely have better open rates and fewer unsubscribers. Thanks for pointing that out and it is something everyone should consider.