Off-premise dining – Part 5 – Digital Marketing
Community awareness
When you start a new operation in your restaurant, you target a client segment. Your customers’ knowledge of your new service is vital for your success. When they don’t know you have an online ordering platform, or boutique grocery, or a semi-prepared gourmet meal, they will not order them!
Part of the off-premise dine-in experience is related to your marketing.
You can categorize your customers to three groups while promoting online ordering platform:
The first group is exiting customers. They already know you and your services. You have their business cards or their information through the past delivery orders.
As per statistics, existing customers build up to 60% of the restaurant revenue, and the same exists in online ordering. You have an easier time convincing them to put the order online with you—especially order in your online ordering platform rather than an aggregator platform.
The second group is your neighborhood. They might be among your customers or never tried your food. The importance of this group is that you can deliver fast to them and maintain your food quality in the delivery process. Besides, they are the main target of boutique grocery and retail you might run in your restaurant. Same, if you offer a gourmet meal, they still can be the best candidate for this menu mix due to the quality matters.
The third group is the new clients you can get through marketing. Reaching the third group to order online from you is the most expensive customers to get and sell to. You need to promote and offer something to get their first order. Then create an excellent off-premise dine-in experience to turn them to a regular customer.
Digital marketing
Sending the tri-fold menu to house doors was the method many restaurants using to promote their delivery menu. Today, you shouldn’t do it anymore. Social distancing regulation is one reason not to do it. Besides, printing and distributing a physical menu is more expensive than providing a digital menu. You can share the digital menu through your website or social media channels. Consider the menu as content that can help your ranking in search engines.
Digital marketing does not need to be complicated and expensive. But you need to establish several elements for proper practice. You need to implement these elements before running your digital marketing campaign. Followings are the core parts you need to prepare:
1 – Web site
Your restaurant should have a website. You can install your website with the cheapest hosting service. Using a readymade website template for a restaurant cuts the development cost. It also allows you to hire a technician for a low fee to install the website. We discussed the web technology in the previous parts. Off-premise dining – Part 1 – Technologies to use.
2 – Social media page
Having a presence in social media is critical. It’s even more important than the website. Establishing a social media page for your restaurant in any of the platforms does not cost a thing. What it requires is the content that you need to create and maintain.
The social media platforms are evolving and providing more facilities to run business in the platforms. Like having product catalogs that customers can order directly, and they are moving toward payment processing as well.
Facebook and Instagram are a must, and you’d better have an eye on Pinterest as well. Messengers like Telegram, WhatsApp, WeChat, and Facebook messengers are also providing business-oriented capabilities. They will play a significant role in the future with ChatBot capabilities and automated interactions.
3 – Promotion plans
You need to plan your promotion and marketing message while you are establishing your online ordering system. Entering digital marketing is not difficult, and sooner or later, everyone will do it. So you need to prepare and have your plan ahead of time to stand out in the competition with your social media ads.
Planning the marketing budget, and creative works are essential for your digital marketing.
We don’t want to get to the marketing jargon and discuss detailed marketing practices here. You still need to consider that your digital marketing activities should have a sales funnel in mind. You need to create awareness and then promote specific products. And then at then push for the hard sell of the menu items and services.
Social media allows you to segment your audience. You can target them based on the demography, behaviors, preferences, and location, especially when you want to market your online ordering platform to your neighborhood. For example, Facebook allows you to narrow the area to your closest district.
4 – Budget
The required budget for ad-spend is different from the platform to the platform. That’s why you need to make sure which platform deliver your target audience. Another essential element of the budget is the creative works. Pictures, videos, and copywriting are your communication tools. They attract your audience to stop on your ads. So don’t compromise here. You have only 0.3 seconds to get a viewer on social media. You need to consider the administration of digital marketing practice in your budget.
5 – Content development plan
Content is an essential aspect of your digital marketing. Creative works and messages you post on social media are the keys to engaging the customers. You provide information with your words about your restaurant’s activities.
The content should not be, just, a marketing message. You, as a restaurateur, have a story, have an opinion, and have advice to your audience. Sharing your stories and information nuggets are critical to engaging your audience. It’s social media, and it’s better to socialize than be only a salesman.
Telling the stories is going to give a human face to the entire of your digital presence. And with the human touch, people will encourage to engage. Just a marketing message does not necessarily engage people with you.
You can put a camera in your kitchen and give the same open kitchen experience to your online ordering channel customers. You can show them how you maintain your hygiene and quality control and earn customer trust.
Don’t forget how you treat your customers in the dine-in environment. You can use the same approach in the digital environment.