Implementing a digital strategy for your restaurant is key to boosting both your renown and your revenue.
The goal is to define your objectives and optimize your marketing efforts to gain – sustainably – in terms of efficiency.
What does a digital strategy entail?
A digital strategy consists in using different digital channels available to develop your restaurant’s communication and marketing. As with any other strategy, it must go hand in hand with performance objectives and indicators to gauge your efforts and assess your results. Also, remember to analyse your customer profiles so that you can effectively align your campaigns with their needs.
Objectives of a digital strategy for your restaurant
Obviously, the expected results are specific to your brand or establishment. Having said that, the objectives of a digital strategy can be divided into a number of key areas:
- Attracting new customers
- Communicating with your customers, your contact base and your newsletter subscribers
- Ensuring the loyalty of a part of your customer base and making sure they come back regularly
- Getting recommendations
Consider your approach as if it were a virtuous circle that will allow you to attract new customers, transform them into regulars and create a relationship with them, or even make them ambassadors who will recommend your establishment or share your posts on the social networks. All this with a view to driving the growth of your revenue.
The essentials of a digital strategy for your restaurant
Start by defining your objectives: traffic, revenue, reputation, number of recommendations, etc. Then set up the right channels and tools to deploy your restaurant’s digital strategy:
- A website with an online ordering facility.
- A blog for your restaurant (ideally part of your marketing website), to develop your renown, exchange with your readers and improve your SEO.
- Well-presented social media platforms (striking pictures, practical information, clear presentation of who you are and what you have to offer). If you are hard pushed to deal with everything, choose the most relevant and effective social networks for your restaurant, such as Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram. The key is to keep these vehicles alive. To do so, you must avoid “spreading yourself too thin”.
- A Google My Business account and Google Plus page to underpin your local SEO efforts. Make sure that the information you give is consistent with that on your website, as well as on TripAdvisor or Yelp).
- A controlled e-reputation where you respond to opinions posted about your establishment, and encourage your loyal customers to rate you on the Internet.
- A solution for creating and sending out newsletters to share your news, latest offers, and perhaps to organize games and/or competitions. Depending on your digital budget, there are a number of effective tools for creating and sending newsletters that may suit.
- A solution for monitoring your online traffic and behaviour statistics, e.g. Google Analytics.
- Ideally, an advertising budget dedicated to digital (PPC, AdWords, Facebook ads, etc.).
Your active presence must be completed by your own online ordering site, so that you can fully reap the rewards of your efforts and avoid your customers from using other sites or directories to consume in your restaurant or talk about you! To go the extra mile with the development of your online presence, check out our tutorials intended for restaurateurs.
