The food industry is no blunt when it comes to variety.
Restaurants can range from a dollar meal to elite chef’s special meals. How is this industry so alive and thriving for some and not for others?
Have you ever noticed that some restaurants get a lot of business with mediocre food, whereas others with excellent quality food is lacking in the amount of business they deserve?
Do you have a restaurant that serves awesome quality food?
That is great! But you know what that alone won’t bring you, customers.
According to recent stats, 52% of the consumers prefer to spend money on an experience, such as a restaurant.
Therefore, it is evident that people prefer to go out to eat rather than shopping.
In the U.S alone, 4% of the GDP came from restaurants alone in 2019!
Talking about the Indian market alone, the Indian restaurant industry employed 7.3 million people in 2018-19. That’s a huge number!
Now, you can definitely ask, how technology & marketing will amplify the restaurant industry?
Well, 90% of guests make research a restaurant online before actually going there.
So your presence online & not just a mere presence, your visibility, engagement definitely matters when it comes to customer experience.
Today we will discuss how internet marketing can build a brand identity for restaurants.
What role do restaurant discovery platforms play?
Portals like Zomato, Swiggy or Yelp are the primary source of finding restaurants, not only for ordering in but for dining.
Around 73 million monthly mobile web visitors visit Yelp. For Zomato it is around 80 million active users per month.
The idea is to appear in front of your target audience where they are likely to be looking for you.
If you miss out on these major portals, frankly in today’s stiff competition, someone else is ready to take your place!
The Role of SEO
The keyword ‘restaurants near me‘ has round about 7,480,000 monthly searches on Google.
Therefore you can very well understand the importance of SEO. Now, for SEO alone, restaurants can be hard as sites like Zomato or Yelp dominate most of them. But you can do a lot of things like having a blog and regularly publishing interesting content. Make sure it is keyword specific to get the wanted ranking.
How to increase customer engagement?
Don’t ignore customer reviews
12.5% of diners will post a review about the restaurant after their meal, according to Finance Online.
Also, it has been observed that most people post bad reviews much quicker than good ones. Well, do not ignore the reviews.
Popular surveys claim that, when you ask, 70% of consumers will leave a review for your business. So, the idea is to ask!
A lot of restaurants lose customers due to lackluster response towards their customers. Replying particularly to the negative ones will add to your credibility & show that you can accept criticism.
Social media engagement
As of 2017, an average global internet user spends about 135 minutes per day on social media, said Statista.
Most restaurants have a social media account.
However, when it comes to creating specific visual content, they somehow lack ideas.
Look, food is something you relish on.
Arguably one of the best platforms to promote restaurants is Instagram!
260 million+ Instagram posts use the hashtag #food, according to Biz Journal.
With high-quality drool-worthy photos, you have your half battle won. Consider hiring a pro to take some top-notch photographs, or try it DIY style with your smartphone.
Indulge in shot videos of getting the food ready, or Call to Action buttons directly linked to your website with the social media handles so that customers have easier access in order.
You can also try to collaborate with influencers or food bloggers & let them promote your business.
67% of restaurants are planning to use social media advertising in 2019.
The importance of Online ads
Paid online marketing strategy is very common among the restaurants.
It helps you display your brand to your prospects and get direct traffic on your online food ordering platform. Also, special offers and discounts at your restaurant can be promoted through these advertisements.
Particularly, if you are new in the business then the effectiveness of digital ads can be very effective in building a traffic base for your restaurant.
The easiest way to indulge is Google Adwords with low content, high visual ads.
Building a food ordering app
Many restaurants are focusing on developing their own app rather than using a third-party.
With mobiles becoming popular among the millennials, ordering through apps is expected to grow in the coming years.
Make sure that your app has:
- Easy to sign up & login.
- Has a good availability on iOS, Android & Windows stores.
- Has good content with high SEO.
- Responsive with high-speed limit.
Why target the Millenials?
Because millennials have gradually passed the baby boomers in terms of buying powers. According to the USA today, 54% of them go out at least thrice a week to eat.
So easily your target demography should be them. 53% of millennials look for new experiences when picking a place to eat.
Picking your audience & promoting to them is essential.
Restaurants are not the easiest things to run. There is a need to experiment with new cuisines, competition, & other developments in the food industry.
It is best for an agency to handle all your promotional matters. Contact Us at Skyram Technologies for a tailor-made digital solution for your business.
Also, for other blogs on marketing, read here!
