The holidays are a time for celebrating. And that means attending a string of parties and eating out at restaurants.
If you own or run a restaurant, the holidays are a time to capitalize on this opportunity by attracting new customers and building an absolutely amazing bond with your diners. But where should you start? What should you do? How can you maximize your marketing performance during the holiday season?
To answer that, we are providing a list of tips and advice for your website, online marketing, offline marketing and in-restaurant marketing during this critical time of the year for restaurants:
Restaurant Marketing for the Holidays
Restaurant Website
* Home Page – Have you customized your home page for the holidays?
* Specials – Let everyone know about your holiday special promotions.
* Holiday Parties – If you host holiday parties, make that clear and promote just how wonderful your establishment is for parties.
* Social Media Integration – Include links to your Yelp Profile Page, Twitter feed, Facebook Fan Page. Mention what people can expect from these platforms (special promotions, exclusive offers, inside information, the story behind the story, invitations to events, etc.).
* Mobile – Make absolutely certain that your website is mobile-friendly. People in their cars looking for a local restaurant ARE going to check out Yelp and your website on their iPhone and other mobile devices. You would be shocked to see how many websites just don’t function properly on a mobile device.
Online Marketing
* Yelp – If you run a restaurant, Yelp (with over 27 million monthly unique visitors) is a MUST. Manage your profile, respond to customer comments, get engaged. Do your best, as the Yelp app on the iPhone is fast-becoming an essential tool for anyone looking for a restaurant while traveling.
* Twitter – With over 22 million monthly unique visitors, Twitter is quite popular and a useful way for you to send real-time messages to your audience. Make them feel special for signing up to “follow” you by offering exclusive Twitter-only promotions.
* Facebook – With over 300 million users, half of whom log-in everyday, Facebook is critical. Create a Fan Page. Provide your crowd behind-the-scenes stories, photos and videos. Share special recipes. Offer special promotions. Announce an event. Etc.
* Blogs - Do you know the top bloggers in your area and around the country covering food, restaurant and dining topics? Identify 5 important bloggers and build a relationship. Offer them truly amazing and useful ideas and content. Help them serve their audience. The more organic mentions and links you receive from credible bloggers, the more the word will spread and the more visible your website will become in the search engines.
Offline Marketing
* Holiday Cards - Remember to send out a holiday card to your database of customers.
* Birthday Specials - According to the National Restaurant Association, more than half of Americans eat out on their birthday. Make sure you give ‘em a reason to celebrate at your establishment. Just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean there are not a huge number of individuals celebrating their birthdays at this time.
* Social Causes - Can you help feed the homeless and hungry in your community? It’s important to remember that we are all in this together. Help others.
* PR - Get involved. Get quoted. Get talked about.
* Partner - Partner with complementary businesses in your community. For example, you and your local movie theater can jointly promote a special “Dinner and a Movie” night.
In-Restaurant Marketing
* Holiday Party - Host an amazing holiday party. (And don’t forget to promote the event through Twitter, Facebook, email, your website, your partners, in-restaurant materials, word-of-mouth, etc.)
* Decorate - Tastefully decorate your restaurant with touches of the holidays.
* Surprise - Surprise each diner with a small gift of thanks.
* Holiday Fundraiser - Host a holiday fundraiser for a worthwhile local cause. (And don’t forget to promote the event through Twitter, Facebook, email, your website, your partners, in-restaurant materials, word-of-mouth, etc.)
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