Restaurant owner ideas needed

Offer these services:

• Google places - Verify and Optimization then setup coupons (including mobile)
• Facebook fanpage - Setup, educate on use including Facebook places
• Twitter - setup and educate on use
• Foursquare - setup and educate on use (special discount for the "Mayor" of [restaurant-name]
• SMS (text) messaging campaigns - setup and educate
• Email marketing - setup and educate
• Promo materials - create tent cards for tables, door.window signage to promote website and social media, and email & SMS sign-ups

That should give you a good start. Start with google place page setup and coupons. The offer monthly service to optimize and maintain top placement in SERPs. Then upsell to the other offerings as needed.

Regards,

John

See above post. Everything I was going to recommend and more.

Postcards sent out saturation mail to all households in reachable area. This will build your lists very quickly for text coupons and email.

Very inexpensive...1000 (4x6) postcards for around $350 total cost. (depends on vendor)

The one thing people respond to far more than any other kind of direct mail is FOOD OFFERS.

Postcard campaigns in will give their traffic an immediate jolt of energy, and give them a great base to work from and build the web based and mobile marketing avenues up.

A great system I've put in place in a number of restaurants is a 3 for 1 card...they recycle traffic much quicker than 5for1 or 10for1 cards ....those take too long for a customer to achieve and they rarely ever do. People will eagerly run through their 3 visits...often within a week or 10 days to get their bonus, because it is an easy goal to achieve.

These can be business card sized handout cards ...print them up and start getting them in everyones hands....and when they use it up immediately give them another one.

Another strong move, which I've mentioned on this forum before is get the restaurant actively involved with other businesses promotions/events (especially non-food companies) ...capture other peoples traffic by letting those companies add value to their promos with food coupons or family dinner packages.

Use surveys to extract marketable information from the patrons ...like what their favorite menu item is, when their birthday or anniversary is....send them a personal discount on those days.

Set up a program where a manager visits a table and writes up a custom coupon on the spot for that family or patron then signs it, invites them to come back within 2 days...or assign it for slow days and times, whatever.

If he does this a dozen times a day he is making a measurable difference in immediate return traffic.


Having also been the manager of restaurants I can tell you that there are a number of internal things that do effect customer revenue and their ability to maintain customer flow.

In other words...it doesn't take much to start negating all the efforts put into marketing....and its good that the owners understand this...not that you tell them how to run their business but its healthy to have a conversation about things like getting their employees to talk to customers about the facebook page, and making sure the employees know how to handle all of the promos going on....and their customer service in general ....and how quickly their servers get to customers etc.

If the waitresses aren't getting to the tables to refill drinks ...then consider getting HUGE cups...Customers HATE having to feel like they must ration their beverage because they don't know when the girl is coming back.

An efficient table bussing system. Get those tables cleaned off immediately. This is MAJOR. People don't ever want to see a dirty/cluttery food joint ...ever. If they see too much of that they will not come as often. But more importantly...the quicker those tables are clean, the quicker a new patron sits down and pays money. If each table in the joint seats just ONE MORE customer per day it can pay the salaries of 2 or 3 more employees! (20 tables x $15 profit x 30 days = $9,000)

anyway, hope that helps.

Elaborating on what John (TE2) said, I think mobile can be huge;
-SMS, it's opt in, immediate, timely, great for coupons, discounts
-Mobile optimized sites, great for showing menu, giving directions, click to call, etc..
-QR Codes, add them to print ads, put them on the table tents.

Along with the above, Groupon or similar site like Living Social or Screamin Daily Deals.

Yes those QR codes really help alot and also create mobile sites for them since everyone has a mobile phone.

Creating a mobile website with a coupon is a great way to help them. Add a qr code to their shop window and add to their menus etc.

Also add their menu to the mobile site and then work on their desktop site by adding blogging, rss feed etc.

Quentin

Combine QR codes with FB and coupons by using Likify. You bribe the customer to LIKE your FB page by scanning the QR code - shows the FB page, click the "LIKE" and you get taken to the coupon.... likify.net

Different types of attractive banners will help the business. You can put it in front of your physical address. You can advertise your business by putting the banners at public places like shopping malls, multiplexes, cinemas, bus or railway stations.

I actually own a restaurant

here is way I look at things...."How do I double my sales?"
I get guest to come back one more time.

If they come once a week, get them twice a week.
If the come once a month, get them to come back twice a month.
If they come once a year, get them to come back twice a year.

Now how do you do that? Well Consistency is the most important thing, in food and service. I have found that people will in general forgive a slightly over cooked meal but will rarely come back when service is non-exsistanant....So focus on service.

I started a "Birthday Program" and "Anniversary Program" to collect emails.....I also say that if they join the program they will be added to my eNewslettler. Then I send out 3-5 eNewsletters a month. I don't always use discounts, I try to come up with a "Good enough reason" to have an event or throw a party.

I the future I plan on getting cell phone numbers to send text messages on their Birthday and Anniversary.

The above post about using an email auto responder to send text messages is a great idea.

Paul

These ideas are good - but don't forget that you need to be driving traffic to a list somewhere. That could be after they're in the restaurant and it could be a website. The bottom line is don't spend money twice. If you're going to acquire a customer - then do it.

Also, don't forget the power of video. Applebees does TV for a reason. Have them video the chef making the Featured Dessert - then upload it to YouTube on Friday at 10:30 a.m.

All that stuff you read about above- use it to drive people to the video. Maybe you put a coupon code link in the video description. Get people talking. Get 'em salivating. Get 'em in and on a list.

Dan

Local restaraunt directory listings were you can post reviews and clients can post reviews can drive good traffic to a restaurant.

One specific plan involving a birthday list is sending the person a coupon for a free meal a week or two in advance. Of course people usually don't celebrate alone and bring in 1 or more paying customers with them.

These are some really great ideas. I thought I would add one to the list.

I saw this in a Rock Bottom restaurant (part of a franchise) in Charlotte, NC one day when I was having lunch.

In the waiting area of the lobby, mounted on the wall, was a Digital Picture Frame that scrolled through all of the daily specials, along with some other information.

Talk about brain dead simple. Digital picture frames are not that expensive. All you need is the frame and something to store the specials on (a usb card, a memory stick), and you're in business.

Try that and see what type of response you get.

Thanks,

Leron