Key Elements of Coffee Shop and Restaurant Marketing

Restaurants Need Digital Marketing Today

Marketing Techniques For Restaurant, Cafes and Coffee Shops

Do you own a coffee shop or restaurant? If so, you’re probably well aware of the power of word of mouth. If you have a great product, whether that’s a tasty cup of joe or a pizza to die for, you’ll get returning customers to patronize your business. But while much of it rests on word of mouth, you won’t get very far without a strong digital marketing strategy to complement it.

There are lots of things that go into making a well-rounded marketing strategy, such as content marketing, local SEO, social media marketing and reputation management. Marketing for your industry has evolved since you first started. Everyone is on their smart phones now, searching for food or drink in their area whenever the mood strikes. You have to be prepared to fill that need, or you will be left behind.

A stellar coffee shop and restaurant marketing strategy should include these seven vital components:

1. SMS marketing
2. Loyalty programs
3. Content marketing, website, local SEO
4. Landing pages
5. Citation & business listings
6. Social WiFi
7. Reviews
8. Digital Signage

Local SEO is a major consideration because it encompasses content marketing, landing pages, listings and citations, and a review strategy. They all have to work together for the most targeted and localized results.

Let’s go over all of the above seven factors and their importance.

1. SMS Marketing

While your email marketing campaign may have been working OK up till now, it’s not enough. There’s only a 20 percent open rate with email, which means your coupons and deals for “buy one breakfast sandwich, get one free” are mostly being ignored. Enter: SMS messaging. With 90 percent of those texts being viewed by the customer, you can’t beat those odds for exposure.

As a restaurant owner using SMS, you can:

Text customers coupon codes and deals for nightly specials, weekly specials, free dessert offerings, combo deals and more.
Confirm reservations and cancellations via text.
Say happy birthday with a special treat.
Announce special events.
Thank new customers with a friendly message and discount off their next visit.
Re-engage customers who haven’t visited you in a while.
Promote your menu and new dishes.

2. Loyalty Programs

You can’t ignore the stats: A Harvard Business Review study revealed that increasing customer loyalty by just five percent can increase revenue by between 25 percent and 95 percent. By implementing a loyalty rewards program, you can increase order size and boost repeat business.

People take their coffee and food very seriously. Once they find a place they like, they hold on with both hands. Reward that loyalty by giving them something special and exclusive in return.

There are many different loyalty program types you could offer as coffee shop or restaurant owner, such as:

Touchless Loyalty Program: The latest in loyalty rewards. Using NFC technology clients can check-in using their mobile device and play Spin to Win games at the table. Client can manage their rewards using a mobile loyalty app for Appl and Android devices
Punch card loyalty programs: For example, buy nine coffees, get the 10th one free.
Points-based loyalty program: Customers earn a certain number of points for every dollar they spend.
Subscription membership program: Subscribers receive rewards for reaching membership milestones. You may offer a meal kit subscription plan for an annual price that rewards customers once they have been a member for a period of time.
Promotion rewards program: Members can receive rewards with expiration dates, encouraging them to dine with you or order from you within a specific window of time.
Automated Marketing: Todays loyalty programs should include automated marketing utilizing geofencing, text and email marketing campaigns that send out digital coupons based on location and or time. Just in time marketing.

On top of making your customers feel special, loyalty programs also allow you to collect and draw from customer data so you can better personalize your marketing campaign.

3. Content Marketing, Mobile Optimized Website, Local SEO

Fueling your website starts with great content. You know your stuff. You know how to make the perfect donut, the best cup of espresso, the fluffiest chowder or the tastiest cocktails. Flex your industry muscle and tell people about it. Post tutorials, blogs, articles, videos and other resources that position you as a local leader in the restaurant biz.

For restaurants and coffee shops, videos and photos are where it’s at. You don’t have to write a book every time you post latte art. The picture speaks for itself. Instagram is great for these types of posts. People are very visual and want to see what you offer, not necessarily read about it. .

Use these platforms to post pizza making and latte art tutorials, which shows off your skills, encourages people to come in and try your offerings, and it teaches them something new.

But you won’t get far without a mobile optimized website to encapsulate all that content. That’s because mobile optimized websites form the foundation of your entire digital marketing plan. So what exactly is mobile optimization? This is when you adjust your website content to ensure users can access the site from any mobile device to provide a customized experience.

Once you have established that, you have to ensure you’re applying on page SEO techniques, which is the process of optimizing the content of a website for achieving higher rankings in search engines.

Local SEO, an integral part of your overall SEO strategy, targets customers in a specific region, city or neighborhood, allowing you to improve your rankings and visibility within local search results like Google’s Map Pack and Local Pack. According to Google, 30% of all searches are related to location.

4. Landing Pages

You want your website visitors to stay focused on one service, offering or location. That’s where local landing pages come in. They’re designed to snag qualified leads by focusing on one specific page at a time, such as menus, specials, locations, etc. Every page will have its own call to action (CTA), and every page should be mobile-friendly, attention-grabbing, and quick-loading. Using these pages to target specific keywords for the restaurant industry will improve your SEO and help you rank higher in the SERPS (search engine results pages).

5. Citation and Business Listings

As a locally-owned coffee shop or restaurant, you need to claim your business listings on relevant review sites and Google Business Profile to generate leads online more effectively. By staying up to date on your listings and citations, you’re showing that your restaurant is legitimate, reputable, and open for business. Do this by verifying, completing and maintaining your listings with up-to-date, accurate information on every restaurant or shop location you own. A good citation and listing campaign should include all the major listings, voice search directories, GPS maps and the important data aggregators.

While you definitely want to claim listings on review sites such as Google and Yelp, hit the niche industry review and match sites too, such as OpenTable, Zagat and Foursquare. .

6. Social WiFi

Social WiFi allows customers to log in using their social media credentials when in or near your shop thanks to a guest WiFi landing page. Not only can you ask customers to like or follow your social media channels while connecting to your restaurant’s WiFi, you can collect customer data such as name, email, and demographics at the same time.

This is an immediate and engaging way to connect with your restaurant through the use of meaningful, relevant channels your customers can easily grasp.

Social Powered WiFi should include:

Auto Pilot Text & Email Marketing
Mobile Wallet
Geofencing
Text Marketing
Digital Coupons

7. Reviews

Word of mouth reviews work locally, but they don’t work so well when you’re looking to expand beyond your comfort zone. Access to online review sites allows you to see what people are saying about you, while having the opportunity to respond back to them. Online review management will help you manage your brand, attract new leads, boost sales, look trustworthy, and expand the conversation about your coffee shop. With people trusting online reviews as much if not more than reviews from friends and family, this is a no-brainer.

Remember, the very nature of your restaurant business requires trust. It won’t be easy to attract and retain customers if you can’t get people to trust in your ingredients, food presentation, consistent prices or quality products.

8. Digital Signage & Displays

Digital signage and displays for restaurants boston ma

Use your restaurant digital signage displays to showcase your restaurant’s specials and deals, social media post, reviews, upcoming events. Introduce your staff members and your favorite menu recommendations. 14 day free trial digital displays

Wrapping it Up

These marketing strategies aren’t just good advice for coffee shops and restaurants. They can be applied to many different industries, from nail salons to mechanics – or any industry you’re a part of.

Marketing Automation by Tactical-Moves Inc

If you own a coffee shop or restaurant, contact us today at 617-858-5802 to customize digital marketing campaign tailored to your unique business needs and customers. Automated marketing campaign designed for restaurants. Increase sales today!

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