Promotional Tools to Promote Your Restaurant

As the economy takes a hit, you may feel the effect as you crunch numbers and make your marketing dollars stretch. However, you don't have to break the bank when it comes to cost-effective promotions. You need the most bang for your buck right now. These simple promotional tools will give you that extra publicity boost you need to take your business to the next successful level.

Advertising Versus Public Relations
Before you delve into promoting your busines, you need to ask yourself the following question: Do you know the difference between advertising and public relations? That sounds like an elementary question, but many business owners use the words "advertising" and "public relations" synonymously.

Advertising: A paid public promotion of a product or service
(i.e. newspaper ad or online ad banner)
Public Relations: An unpaid promotion intended to create goodwill for a person,
product or company (i.e. press conference or press release).

Now that you know the difference between advertising and publicity, it's time to implement the following cost-effective promotions into your marketing plan. Are you taking these steps already? If not, you may want to think about implementing at least one of the following publicity tools in the near future:

• News worthy press releases: Not all press releases are considered news worthy. If you are launching a new product or website, this might be considered news worthy to local media. Before you send out a press release, think about if this topic interests local media. Do not blindly send out press releases to media. Find out the correct editor or department to send your press releases to, in most cases this will be the Food or Lifestyle editor but sometimes it may need to go to the business section or local news or events. Press releases can be sent via email or fax. Check your press release for errors and mistakes before you send out to an editor. You never know - you could be called for an interview as a result of your press release. TaDa members receive professionally written press releases every month that they just need to customize with their resturant's information before sending out. TaDa can also help you create a custom press release that will publicize events at your restaurant, promotions you're running, menu changes, and your participation/involvement in the community.
• Web sites, blogs and social networking sites: These are free publicity tools (web sites can also be developed at low costs) that are readily available at your fingertips. If you haven't developed a web site or blog, then you are missing huge promotional opportunities. Social networking sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Biznik are effective communications tools to connect with potential leads and customers. Social media networking sites are free (you just need an email to sign up for these sites). TaDa also offers our members free technical advice and step-by-step guides on establishing a presence online, blogging, using social networking to promote your business, building a customer database and developing a relationship with customers thru email marketing.
  
• Free or low-cost special events: It's important to thank your customers and clients - make them feel appreciated. Even if it's only an inexpensive morning coffee event, it's important to put your "face" in front of your clients and customers. In this technologically-advanced age of the email, text messages and voicemail, business owners sometimes forget the personal touch. Free or low-cost special events put you right in front of your clients again.
  
• Become a good steward within your community: Even if you can't afford to make a monetary donation, your volunteer time is just as important. It also allows you to give back to your community and gives you a great networking opportunity. You can also give in-kind donations for auctions (both products and services), which is another great way to promote your business (and a tax write-off). Pick a charitable organization that has personal meaning for you, and become a good steward within your community. TaDa's Student Restaurant Ambassador program is a good example of this idea at work. It allows you to help motivate local high school students to graduate while promoting your business at the same time.

You may already implement many of these tools but business owners tend to forget that they have cost-effective promotional tools at their fingertips. Take advantage of the Internet or partner with a local charity. You have the opportunity to get your name out there and land more contacts and clients. Don't use the excuse that you don't have a marketing budget, or that you need to spend a lot of money to generate effective publicity.

Menu & Photos a "must have" for a Restaurant's Website

Here are the results from a recent survey of 2,437 diners conducted by The Coyle Hospitality Group.

Consumers Judge the Quality of a Restaurant Based its Website
Sixty-seven percent of those polled indicated that the quality of a restaurant's personal website is indeed an indicator of the level of service they can expect to receive when dining there.

TaDa Tip 1: Make sure your website looks professional. If you don't make a good impression online, you may not get the chance to actually make thir acquaintance.

Menu and Photos are a "must have" for a Restaurant's Website
Two-thirds of those surveyed categorized having a menu on a restaurant's website as a "must have" and "very important." A restaurant having its own web site was also deemed crucial with 86% putting it at or above 'Very Important'. Photos of the dining room were also cited by the majority as at least 'Very Important'.

The data suggests potential diners are seeking to do what actual diners do: They begin by reviewing the menu and looking around the dining room.

Diners, when researching a restaurant online, are seeking hard facts about your menus and pricing. It appears that presenting even a basic website with menus and some photos is a big help. For many diners this is the easiest way to get directions, check hours, and yes, even dial your phone number.

TaDa Tip 2: Your logo shouldn't be the only graphic on your website. Make sure that your website includes at least one photo of the exterior and the interior of your restaurant. Give people a preview of what its like to walk thru your door.

Let Your Customers Speak For You
When those surveyed were asked what influenced them most to dine at a particular restaurant, word of mouth still reigned supreme. It was followed by user reviews, then professional reviews, and finally newspapers. This tells us that diners begin researching based on other diners’ experiences. Whether they are friends, acquaintances or simply others who have dined at the restaurant in question, people are looking for real-life experience to base their dining decisions on - either in person or on the web.

TaDa Tip 3: Include reviews by your customers on the "About Us" page of your website. Potential customers would rather know what other real people have to say about your restaurant then read the chef's bio.

A Website with Online Ordering = Real $$$

When you start taking online orders from your website, in a few short days you will find yourself saying "Why did I wait so long?" When your customers order from your website you'll soon realize that: your staff makes less mistakes, your customers spend more money, and your customers have a better experience.

Statistics show that customers who order online spend anywhere from 8%-12% higher than those who order by phone. It makes total sense. On the phone a customer is under a time constraint and can often feel rushed by an order taker. Online they can take their time, see your whole menu and often add more items to their order. I run across restaurateurs who tell me that they can't afford the cost of processing an online order. If the average order is 8% higher and the cost is 3% to process, you are up 5% ... and this is just the obvious benefit... think of the (added) hidden value:

1. When customer-A was issuing that bigger order, your employee was not taking that order but making one for customer-B.
2. No Mistakes! The order comes out in black and white. No mistakes in quantity, items, delivery address AND if you choose to process credit cards online, it is often already paid!
3. And what about that customer who hung-up and decided to order from your competition because your phone lines were busy! No such thing in online ordering.
4. Also, think of that night owl who wants to order for his team's party tomorrow, but there is no one in your restaurant to take an advance order!
5. And how many can - in all honesty - say that they do not order the same thing over and over again. Online platform allows the customer to quickly reorder from old orders...

Bottom line: I think that restaurant operators who look at the 3% cost completely miss the boat! I'd venture to say that their argument to save 3% is awfully short sighted. Your restaurant makes more money when your customers order online. After a few weeks of taking online orders, successful operators realize the best way for a customer to place an order is online and they start to look for tools to make this happen.

There are many ways to get your customers to order online. Here are some simple must dos!
1. On your menu you must print in LARGE letters, ORDER ONLINE at yourrestaurant.com
2. Train your staff to let customers know that they can order online (T-Shirts with your restaurant's website address on them, maybe?)
3. Create in house displays that tell your customers that they can order online
4. If you have a phone recording, tell them on the message. Especially on the closed message. This way they can place an order even when the restaurant in closed.
5. Create a reason for them to order online. Many online ordering systems lets you create a loyalty program and a first time discount.

More sophisticated techniques include:
1. In print or radio campaigns include an online coupon code that gives customers a discount when they order online.
2. Create a google adwords campaign to enhance the traffic to your website. The more visitors to your website, the more online orders you will get. This is also a great way to get new customers. 3. Develop a marketing campaign with the email's you acquire with each online order(If the ordering platform you use doesn't give you complete ownership of your customer emails you have the wrong ordering platform). Keep yourself in forefront of your customer's mind with subtle, yet systematic email campaigns to your database of online customers. Remember, you are just a click away when the customer thinks of ordering online!

If you continue to have a quality product and excellent customer service your online channel will grow naturally. It is the way of the world. By implementing some of the techniques from above you can increase your online traffic exponentially. Given the choice of ordering online or via phone, most customers find ordering online easier.

Plus, this is another tool that helps independent restaurant owners level the playing field in their battle against large chains and franchises (most of whom are already profitting from this technology).

Tips to Increase Your Business Thru Email

Here's some helpful information from Michelle Keegan, who is one of Constant Contact's email marketing experts, that illustrates how every independent restaurant owner can increase their business by using email to build a lasting relationship with customers...

"My advice to businesses is to think about how many times during the year/quarter/month a customer needs you, or your products or services, and let that be your guide to determining how often to reach out and touch your audience. Think of this number as a minimum, then build from there.

Your business could be a marketing consulting firm, a software company, a nonprofit, an educational institution, a car dealership, a florist, a restaurant, a vineyard, a rock and roll band - you name it! Success and profitability is all about creating loyal customers (e.g. clients, users, donors, buyers, diners, drinkers and fans) and driving interest, repeat business and referrals.

Since it is roughly six to twelve times less expensive to sell to an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one, the value of customer loyalty and repeat business is just too compelling to ignore.

According to Bain and Company:
A 5% increase in retention yields profit increases of 25 to 100 percent.
Repeat customers spend, on average, 67 percent more than new customers.

It's All About Communication
Communication is a critical part of any relationship. Take a lesson from small businesses that long ago grasped the dynamics and importance of building customer relationships through communication. They nurture their customers over time by learning and remembering individual preferences and interests. They acquire this customer information directly from customers through personal interaction. And they keep in touch with customers on a regular basis ensuring their organization remains "top of mind."

Statistics show that it takes six to seven contacts before you can turn a prospect into a customer. All that contact can be expensive and time consuming. That's where email marketing becomes a critical part of any organization's marketing efforts.

Email Turns Prospects and Visitors into Loyal Customers
Email marketing enables you to proactively communicate with your existing customers instead of passively waiting for them to return to your Web site, visit your store or office, call you on the phone etc. With email marketing you can solidify existing relationships, initiate new ones and convert your one-time visitors, buyers and members into repeat business and long-term customers or contributors.

No matter how your visitors, prospects and customers found you; perhaps you paid for search engine placement, sponsored a newsletter, rented an opt-in list, placed a banner ad, distributed a flyer or sent a postcard; email marketing adds to your bottom line because it allows you to maximize your investment in those expensive and time consuming marketing efforts and improve the return on investment (ROI) of every dollar you spend to obtain new business and develop profitable customer relationships.

According to DoubleClick, good email marketing wins over consumers:
Well-executed permission email marketing campaigns can have a positive impact on consumers' attitudes towards companies. 67% of US consumers said they liked companies that, in their opinion, did agood job with permission email marketing. 58% of consumers said they opened those companies' emails, while 53% said that such emails affected their personal buying decisions.

Why is Email Marketing the Answer?
Email marketing is one of the most powerful marketing tools available today. It is easy, affordable, direct, actionable and highly effective. When you add email to your marketing mix, you spend less time, money and resources than with traditional marketing vehicles (e.g. direct mail or print advertising) And, with email marketing, you can communicate more quickly which means your time-sensitive information is disseminated in minutes, not days or weeks - and you can see the results of your efforts instantly.

Email marketing is at it's most effective when used in communications to your existing customer list or "house list" as a means of customer retention.

Communicate More Information, More Often
Email marketing is an affordable way to stretch a tight marketing budget. It can cost as little as fractions of a penny per email! With a response rate five times greater than direct mail and 25 times the response rate of banner ads, email marketing is the most effective way to increase sales, drive traffic and develop loyalty.

Unlike direct mail, there is virtually no production, materials or postage expense. So, with email marketing, you can easily and affordably create more communications that are valued by your customer, and you can make those communications support and enhance your brand in a way that substantially differentiates your company from the competition.

Your communications can include newsletters, preferred customer promotions, new service announcements, event invitations, greetings and much, much more.

Easily Measure and Improve Your Results
The benefits derived from most types of marketing and advertising are very difficult to measure. With email marketing, however, you can easily measure the number of emails sent, emails opened, bounce backs, unsubscribes and click-through rates.

You can also tell who opened your email, which links in your email motivated the most clicks and, even more specifically, who clicked on each link. All of this useful information can help you send highly targeted campaigns to the individuals most likely to respond to your offer, thus improving your results going forward."

For a free 60-day trial of Constant Contact's email marketing service, click here.

To read the rest of Michelle Keegan's article, click here.

Simple Steps to Make Your Website A Better Marketing Tool

Here are some tips from Rohit Bhargava, who designed the website www.dc-restaurants.com more then 10 years ago and which still happens to be ranked number one on Google for “dc restaurants” despite the fact that it hasn’t ever been updated.

1. Give them the details first. Most people are visiting your site to see the location, get your phone number, or see your opening hours. Are these on your homepage? Can you get to them from every page? Put those front and center, and customers will be more likely to call or visit.

2. Get listed in local online restaurant directories. There are lots of them in every metropolitan area, and usually it is pretty easy to get listed. They need restaurants in their database. It just takes an afternoon searching Google as if you were a customer, finding the sites that you're not listed on, and submitting your site.

3. Show what your best customers say about you. Chances are, you have your regulars. What do they love about your restaurant? Work to find people who say you're good, and then publicize their opinions on your site. Oh, and don't forget to get your mileage out of any positive reviews from critics online too.

4. Pay for professional photography. Your cousin might have a great new digital SLR, but you can tell the difference between professional and amateur images. A good photographer can make something average look mouth watering, and something good look divine. It's the best investment you'll ever make.

5. Help your customers pass it on. Put the URL on your menus. Include a Send this link to a friend. Let customers send an e-vite to others in their party with details on a reservation. Try anything to get people to tell more people online. A single voice can amplify many times further in the online environment.

6. Make it printable. Everyone wants to print menus, directions, phone numbers, etc. You can't print from a flash presentation. Sometimes PDFs are a turnoff because they are too much work. Just make it easy for customers to print pages, and you'll reduce the chances that they get to your site and leave.

7. Understand your stats. Chances are, you know what's working and what isn't in your business. How else can you improve? Your stats can tell you where people are finding your site, what they are searching for when they get there, and what they are never seeing. Analyze the information to find out what people want, and change your site to give it to them.

To read his original blog post, go to http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2006/02/making_a_succes.html

How a Website Helps Your Restaurant Compete to The Best of Its Ability

People are looking for your website. Do you have one? If you do, what does it say about your restaurant? Can people find you in the search engines for the terms you think you should be listed under? If they can find you, are you giving them what they’re looking for when they visit your website? These are all questions that you need to address when you consider the online presence you want for your restaurant.

We live in an information based society. With the explosion of the internet, people can get information about anything, anytime. People no longer hope they can find what they are looking for online, they expect to be able to find what they are looking for online. With that being said, it is amazing how many restaurants still don’t have there own website, or at least one that people can find. There is already information about your restaurant available online, whether you have provided it through your own website or not. Without a website you are leaving the responsibility of informing your customers to someone else.

If your customers can’t find your website, or you don’t have one, people researching their restaurant choices on the internet will simply search out another restaurant. There are more choices in the restaurant business than nearly any other industry. In a competitive market like that, you certainly can’t afford to disappoint customers that are actively searching out your restaurant by not making your presence available to them. Not only are you turning away interested customers, but without a website, new customers have no way of discovering you online. In a society that is moving towards using the internet as the number one research tool, that is a dangerous road to travel.

If you are one of the skeptics about the effectiveness of a website, don’t fall victim to the line of thinking that people aren’t searching for your website. For example, one restaurant we have built a relationship with has a website that we track visitors to. As I write this there have been 762 unique visitors and 2487 individual page loads on their site in the past 30 days. That’s an average of about 25 unique visitors and 83 page loads per day. Of those visitors, the majority of them were referred to the site by searching for the name of the restaurant in a search engine. Others came from search terms like “Best restaurant in (the city name)” or “Wolf Blass Platinum Label”, a wine that happens to be in their wine list. The point is that people are looking for information specifically about your restaurant whether you have a website or not. You owe it to yourself to provide those interested people with the information they are looking for.

The best part about the internet is that you can provide your customers with more information about your restaurant than they would ever need, and it costs you less per month to host a website than placing a single radio ad. For as little as $20 a month, you can host a website that you can easily make changes to yourself. A domain name will run you about $8 per year. You’d be hard pressed to find any other medium that allows you to access as many people as the internet does at a cost that low.

How Forming A Community Can Help your Restaurant

According to Wikipedia the definition of the term community is still being debated by sociologists. For our purposes, a community is a group of people that are related by a common bond and usually in the same area. From a restaurant marketing perspective the common bond is your restaurant and its proximity to the group. The group is your guests and prospective guests.

There is a lot of buzz in the restaurant business about viral marketing, online marketing, social marketing and all of the great things that can be achieved online. Yes, a lot of the marketing trends are very adaptable to the Internet and the constant resources being developed there. The Internet IS a valuable tool, but should not be the only element of getting new customers and maintaining business at your restaurant. If you rely only on the Internet, you will miss 30% to 40% of your customers and prospective customers. Those are the ones who don’t have computers and the ones who don’t fully embrace the technology.

Your restaurant marketing plan needs to develop what I call your “branded community“. That is a group that is defined by the use and potential use of your restaurant. They reside in an area that a reasonable person would define as your potential marketing area. It could be a 2 mile radius, 3 mile radius or much smaller or greater – but clearly within a distance a guest would be willing to travel on a fairly regular basis to visit. Who are the members of your community? The answer depends on the type of restaurant, demographics and structure of the area you have defined as your marketable community area.

Your restaurant community may include:
residents
businesses
groups and associations
athletic teams
government offices
schools
hotels

The list could go on, but generally can easily be defined by just a quick drive within your community area.

Once you have defined the members of your restaurant’s community, you have to define how you will communicate with them. Commonly, the most recognized method of communication is advertising. However, normal advertising like newspapers, direct mail and even yellow page ads are expensive and not very productive. Can print media advertising be useful? Perhaps, but there are many more productive and less costly ways to get your messages to your community.

With today’s available connectivity through the Internet along with old proven direct one on one marketing, you have numerous options. A few ways to get your restaurant’s message out to the community include:
email
website and/or blog
social websites like youtube, facebook, myspace and others
direct mail
personal visits
flyers
membership in groups and associations
involvement in community events
becoming a source for community information and communication

Your type of restaurant may not be able to utilize all of the above methods, but should use as many as possible to reach your full potential. By looking at a common restaurant business model, we can explore the use of each communication method. The business model we will use is the family restaurant with a hundred or more seats in a suburban market of a major city. This model would encompass all of your community members listed above. Here are some marketing ideas for communicating your message using each of the methods above:
Email – Perhaps the most cost effective and best tool available today is the use of email to keep in touch with your customers. As long as you keep the communication valuable to the recipient, it will drive more business to your restaurant than any other single tool.
Website or Blog – By now the restaurant industry has embraced the assets of having a website. An extension of the website is a blog for your community. The blog is a way to be a central source for events in your area, publicizing your restaurant specials and events, featuring members of your restaurant community and entice new business from people who find it on the Internet or through your advertising the web address in other media. For an example of an effective community blog visit The Sand Key Blog. This blog gets only 50 to 75 unique visitors per day. That is 1500 people a month checking your community blog. What other resource do you have that communicates with that many guests and prospective guests? The goal here is not a lot of “hits”. It is quality visitors keeping up with your “restaurant community”.
Social Websites – Within the last few years the prominence of socializing through huge online chat and video communities has become fairly popular. Populated by a big 18 to 34 year old crowd, these sites can be helpful to reach prospective guests through posting your restaurant information in these digital jungles of worldwide content. While not the highest priority as far as marketing options, you can create your presence and perhaps create some buzz.
Direct Mail – If you can generate, buy or create a mailing list that encompasses a big portion of your restaurant community, use it occasionally to promote special events, offer values or to distribute a newsletter. Direct mail is still effective, but costly. It is another tool that encompasses a portion of your community area that may not be reached any other way. If you choose to use coupons, this is a way to measure effectiveness and new business.
Personal Visits – In all of the fuss about the Internet, media advertising and viral marketing, sometimes we forget the old way restaurants grew before technology became part of our daily lives. There is still no more potent marketing tool than direct personal contact. One restaurateur I know uses daily visits to businesses in his area with food samples. He has a preset package of food samples that keep well. He delivers these to several businesses daily along with menu’s. It is extremely effective, but time consuming and moderately expensive. The results are immediate and long lasting.
Flyers – This low cost method of developing business in your community is effective. A simple half page flyer left on the counter of local businesses such as hardware stores, beauty salons, car washes, barbershops and similar places where residents visit can be a reminder that brings customers in the door more frequently. New comers in the area visit these shops and may get the implication that your restaurant is the community favorite.
Membership in Groups and Associations – Your restaurant is an extension of your personality and the people you associate with. Organizations publish membership lists which become prospective guests. Many groups have meetings at lunch and your restaurant becomes a natural location. Don’t forget these inevitable committees that organizations create to accomplish their goals. Offering your restaurant as a meeting place can boost sales.
Community Events – Events that occur in your area of influence become opportunities for participation to solidify your restaurant’s position as a contributor to the quality of life in the area. A neighborhood wide garage sale is a perfect place to cruise the area with coffee and snacks provided by your restaurant. That church fund raising dinner may include one course from your kitchen. How about Girl Scout cookies from the local troop as a palate refresher as guests leave. Build your involvement to build loyalty and customer counts.
Source for Information and Communication – An earlier paragraph explained how to create a blog for the community. You can also have a designated area in your restaurant for notices, flyers, business cards and announcements that bring your restaurant community together in the restaurant.

Forming your community may take a little planning and thinking, but the results are rewarding. Chain restaurants cannot compete with this conceptual marketing plan. They tend to rely on mass media to communicate with the masses. You can make inroads into customer loyalty and the feeling of belonging the chains could never match. The rewards will be more frequent visits to your establishment and less volatility in times of economic downturn. Once you get the customer in the door, pamper them like they were a guest in your home. The guest will talk about you and your operation to everyone they meet. This is true viral marketing.