What Services to Offer to Restaurants

10 years ago

Offer services that get people in the door and spend money. I have a restaurant client that I provide both SMS marketing and an email birthday club. Both work really well for bringing in customers every month.

The birthday club has about 500 subscribers, so that's about 40-50 tables they will fill each month that they might have had empty before. No one eats alone when they go out, so the birthday coupon is a great excuse to get a bunch of people together to go out to eat. Free stuff still works great.

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Marc Marseille

10 years ago

Originally Posted by xlfutur1

Offer services that get people in the door and spend money. I have a restaurant client that I provide both SMS marketing and an email birthday club. Both work really well for bringing in customers every month.

The birthday club has about 500 subscribers, so that's about 40-50 tables they will fill each month that they might have had empty before. No one eats alone when they go out, so the birthday coupon is a great excuse to get a bunch of people together to go out to eat. Free stuff still works great.

I just landed a restaurant client and would be interested to learn more about the birthday club as well. Sounds like a great idea! Is this something they can implement with existing clients or new clients only?

Thanks
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maxrezn

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Marc Marseille

I just landed a restaurant client and would be interested to learn more about the birthday club as well. Sounds like a great idea! Is this something they can implement with existing clients or new clients only?

Anyone. As long as that person gives an e-mail address and a birthday.

Thanks

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xlfutur1

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Marc Marseille

I just landed a restaurant client and would be interested to learn more about the birthday club as well. Sounds like a great idea! Is this something they can implement with existing clients or new clients only?

Create 12 segments in Aweber, then put a form on the client website. The first day of the month is scheduled to send the coupon to that month's list. I use a PDF coupon and attach it to the email.

Thanks

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Marta K

10 years ago

Originally Posted by xlfutur1

Offer services that get people in the door and spend money. I have a restaurant client that I provide both SMS marketing and an email birthday club. Both work really well for bringing in customers every month.

The birthday club has about 500 subscribers, so that's about 40-50 tables they will fill each month that they might have had empty before. No one eats alone when they go out, so the birthday coupon is a great excuse to get a bunch of people together to go out to eat. Free stuff still works great.

Hi, if that's not too much to ask, how did you do the birthday email club? Do you use some specialist software? I got Aweber, but can't figure out how to set up automated mailings for people's birthdayswithout making like 12 seperate lists.

thanks a lot

Also, if you do it manually, how much ddo yyou charge pper 500 subcribers or set monthly fee?

Thanks

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danieldot

10 years ago

Create online booking for your users think about it, just ordering everything online and dropping into your restaurant for having the same.

Concentrate more on deals these kind of marketing is creating good conversion.

Thanks

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jherewini

10 years ago

I agree with xlfutur1 I offer the SMS and QR code marketing to help the restaurant get customers through the door. Its an easy market to open doors with once you get in front of the decision maker

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sdentrepreneur

10 years ago

Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Yelp, Pinterest, Google+ and Google Places. Also set up 25+ of top directories.

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BusinessGuy7

10 years ago

Offer to build and market a website to the business owner. A lot of businesses need good websites to market their services on the net. In the area that I live there are a bunch of small restaurants that have no websites and I have been making quite a living offering simple web designs and marketing/SEO services to get them ranking on Google.

Thanks
1 reply

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Andre Slater

10 years ago

Originally Posted by xlfutur1

Offer services that get people in the door and spend money. I have a restaurant client that I provide both SMS marketing and an email birthday club. Both work really well for bringing in customers every month.

The birthday club has about 500 subscribers, so that's about 40-50 tables they will fill each month that they might have had empty before. No one eats alone when they go out, so the birthday coupon is a great excuse to get a bunch of people together to go out to eat. Free stuff still works great.

Very Very Smart...

Originally Posted by BusinessGuy7

Offer to build and market a website to the business owner. A lot of businesses need good websites to market their services on the net. In the area that I live there are a bunch of small restaurants that have no websites and I have been making quite a living offering simple web designs and marketing/SEO services to get them ranking on Google.

You are so right thanks...

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SEOZONE3

10 years ago

As I'm an SEO Expert so - I've done some projects for my client from California, who has Hotel Business!

I've posted CRAIG LIST Ads for him, near about 1000 Ads in various cities & sections!
Those Ads has given him a lot of Customers through out the world!

Other than CL - I've promoted his website by Article Marketing & by doing Press release distributions!

For more information - You can ask me!

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momwow

10 years ago

I have a restaurant client that I provide both SMS marketing and an email birthday club. Both work really well for bringing in customers every month.

The birthday club has about 500 subscribers, so that's about 40-50 tables they will fill each month that they might have had empty before. No one eats alone when they go out, so the birthday coupon is a great excuse to get a bunch of people together to go out to eat. Free stuff still works great.

I would love to know more about the birthday club - I bought a good WSO on it, but talking to someone else who is actually DOING it successfully would be helpful. Still have questions.

Diana

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DarrenRM

10 years ago

I operate a loss leader website for my local town where I promote their menus online. It is actually TAKEAWAY food which means they do not have to flier houses but instead give me their menu and have me upload to my website.

I've been using this service as a loss leader to encourage each business to let me build them an independent website rather than be part of a directory. I've used QR codes too which link to online ordering portals where I benefit as an affiliate.

If you can work it so you act as an affiliate for ordering online, you could get your personal QR code (with deeplink affiliate link, social engagement button etc) on their menus. So even when they distribute their fliers/menus, YOU still benefit even when your website is not directly involved.

Edit - I'm curious about the SMS marketing. It's something I'd like to get involved in after a bit of investigation. Any good tips here?

Thanks
1 reply

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Vikuna2009+

10 years ago

Originally Posted by DarrenRM

I operate a loss leader website for my local town where I promote their menus online. It is actually TAKEAWAY food which means they do not have to flier houses but instead give me their menu and have me upload to my website.

I've been using this service as a loss leader to encourage each business to let me build them an independent website rather than be part of a directory. I've used QR codes too which link to online ordering portals where I benefit as an affiliate.

If you can work it so you act as an affiliate for ordering online, you could get your personal QR code (with deeplink affiliate link, social engagement button etc) on their menus. So even when they distribute their fliers/menus, YOU still benefit even when your website is not directly involved.

Edit - I'm curious about the SMS marketing. It's something I'd like to get involved in after a bit of investigation. Any good tips here?

Interesting, never heard of a restaurant directory for takeout restaurants only, if that is what it is that you are describing. Trying to wrap my head around the "affiliate" part but nothing comes to mind, lol. Would you care to speculate a bit on the "affiliate" part how you have made that work?

As far as the birthday club goes, there are several ways to go about that. You can set up an autoresponder for them, build a system to collect emails and have them fill in their birth date to email them when the time comes. Or, the most simplest version would be just to collect name, address, birthdate and fill it in to a book, go through the book monthly and mail them a certificate.

Then there are the more advanced methods, involving qr codes for example. Or you can also buy a list with birthdates in the nearest zipcodes and mail to people that never been to your restaurant before.

Loyalty cards like the old-fashioned punch cards still works or go more techie an use an app for that. Not everyone has a smartphone though so you might miss out on half of your customers not being able to use the card. Or, do a plastic card that is pre-loaded with credits that needs to be swiped each time.

SMS is all the rage but it does get expensive, have no experience in that area,

Eva

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DarrenRM

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Vikuna2009+

Interesting, never heard of a restaurant directory for takeout restaurants only, if that is what it is that you are describing. Trying to wrap my head around the "affiliate" part but nothing comes to mind, lol. Would you care to speculate a bit on the "affiliate" part how you have made that work?

Takeout business sign up to one of the many online ordering portals in the UK. Just-Eat, Hungry House are the market leaders. I upload menus to my site but display affiliate links for online payment. I encourage people to pay online so I make a commission. For some of the businesses I charge a small monthly fee for them to have an "improved" profile. But mostly I make nothing when customers choose to pay cash on delivery.

I would post a link to the website demonstrating it but I have a feeling I am not allowed to post links, being a new member

Edit - Here is the link to the site I'm talking about. Looks crap but it gets great traffic and loads fast.
http://www.ilkestonfastfood.com

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venethia

10 years ago

1) A new website mobile responsive
2) Facebook Page : profile and cover pictures, tabs (offers, newsletter and other)
3) Twitter : profile and cover pictures. FB integration.
4) Pinterest : profile picture. Twitter and FB integration.
5) Google Places positioning.
6) Foursquare for offers and bonuses.
5) Offline Brochures.

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Vikuna2009+ 10 years ago

You could also target "New Movers", do a direct mail campaign to people that have just moved into the area. Both renters and home owners. Sign up to Infofree before January 15th because their unlimited account is going to be limited to 4,000 after that. They will provide you with the lists that you need.

Give a free dinner away, on an average, a table consists of 3.7 people because most will not go out and eat alone. Get those people on a email list too.

Eva
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davidreese

10 years ago

Doorhangers (menus) and coupons, flyers (handout at subway stations), and postcard mailing - Every Door Direct.

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MySocialPromo

10 years ago

I would say coupons ... Even Social media based coupons that had a viral component and captured emails as leads.

It would be awesome if there was a cool website that offered these services

Thanks
1 reply

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DarrenRM

10 years ago

Originally Posted by MySocialPromo

I would say coupons ... Even Social media based coupons that had a viral component and captured emails as leads.

It would be awesome if there was a cool website that offered these services

I'm experimenting with Twitter coupons. They are auto generated via FutureTweets (approved Twitter app) and I give restuarant owners a PDF with all the weekly codes. This stops people using old codes.

Thanks
1 reply

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jrbizlink

10 years ago

Hi,
There are a multitude of services to offer.

Many restaurants that I have researched have regular websites but know nothing about optimized mobile sites. I am working on a restaurant directory that is mobile optimized for my local area which will be a loss leader but with some premium ad spots on it.
Once you get in the door you can offer printing, SEO services, social media setups, reputation management services, apps list building, loyalty programs andthere are probably others that I can't think of at the moment. There is a lot of opportunity in the local markets.

Thanks
Joe

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DarrenRM

10 years ago

Originally Posted by jrbizlink

Hi,
There are a multitude of services to offer.

Many restaurants that I have researched have regular websites but know nothing about optimized mobile sites. I am working on a restaurant directory that is mobile optimized for my local area which will be a loss leader but with some premium ad spots on it.
Once you get in the door you can offer printing, SEO services, social media setups, reputation management services, apps list building, loyalty programs andthere are probably others that I can't think of at the moment. There is a lot of opportunity in the local markets.

Thanks
Joe

It's a brilliant way to get to know potential customers. And you can build niche directories for other nearby towns etc.

I'm about to start building a mailing list so I have something of value to use as leverage with these restaurant owners

Thanks

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kellyyarnsbro

10 years ago

Websites will also do, group cards, and so many services you could think of that would bring in customers. But the best service for a restaurant i believe is the food itself. It is always the delicious food that keeps customers from coming back. Make delicious foods and that's it.

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djackson

10 years ago

Lots of offline ideas can be rolled out with online as well. I've offered mobile coupons, list building to send out ideas and such. If you can build a list with the restaurant, maybe speak with the chef about putting out a recipe ebook and then sending that out to the list. Havent ever done it but it could be a good way to build the list (obviously include coupons) and get the local chefs known

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AndrewCavanagh

10 years ago

Email marketing can be very powerful.

You can make that easy by having an offer (free birthday meal etc)
on the menu or some other piece of literature on the tables and have
a QR code so they can optin right there with their mobile phone.

As has already been mentioned no one eats alone on their birthday
so giving subscribers a free meal for their birthday can bring in a lot
of extra business...especially if the staff are great at upselling
bread, drinks, dessert etc.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

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ammartumbi

10 years ago

There are a lot of services you can provide to restaurants. Firstly you can make a website for them if they don't have one. In that website you can put online order or reservation form which will increase the email and contact number database which you can use for email marketing and sms marketing.

The hot topic these days are Mobile Apps. So instead of Mobile website I would suggest go for Mobile Apps. You can earn a lot of money by making a mobile app for a restaurant.

One thing you can also do is that for any restaurant the owner wants it to be recognized so you can invite some food bloggers and ask them to write a review about your client's restaurant and your client would never refuse it. It would give their brand more recognition and it will lead to more sales.

You can offer social media marketing services which is now very important for any business as it is a great platform to market your brand.

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jroutier

10 years ago

Considering the tough economy and a world where increasingly more households have two working parents, restaurants are well positioned to grow. One simple way to get traffic is to promote a discount be it % OFF or $ OFF in short seasonal holiday windows. Tactics should include Direct Mail postcard, online advertising, and social media placement all in the same time window. Customers who can print offer online or bring from their mailbox will show up for the discount - and they'll talk about it too.

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iInvent

10 years ago

The restaurant take-out directory has been on my list,... But I would definately charge to have their menu on my site. A lot of smaller restaurants don't even have a website and send their menu through regulair mail 3-4x/yr... They pay for this already.
I think paying a small fee per month or per year wouldn't be refused... You could also build them a simple one-page directory and include free updates to their menus, etc.
You should also charge a set-up fee.

My thoughts only!

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DarrenRM

10 years ago

Originally Posted by iInvent

The restaurant take-out directory has been on my list,... But I would definately charge to have their menu on my site. A lot of smaller restaurants don't even have a website and send their menu through regulair mail 3-4x/yr... They pay for this already.
I think paying a small fee per month or per year wouldn't be refused... You could also build them a simple one-page directory and include free updates to their menus, etc.
You should also charge a set-up fee.

My thoughts only!

I offer all menus free in order to build site traffic. Then I get to know certain restaurants and offer them a "premium" profile - this means removing all mention of other businesses on their page, removing Adsense units, and creating a .gif advert to put on all the other "free" pages. It works.

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Jeremy Bratcher

10 years ago

I've been offering bluetooth marketing to restaurants that already have ongoing SMS campaigns. Most business owners don't know what it is and, when you explain it to them, you can see the fire light up in their eyes.

It's a little tougher to sell than SMS because of the start up costs but worth every penny to be in control of you marketing message.

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What Services to Offer to Restaurants

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