Life moves pretty fast these days. The post-COVID world of 2022 is almost unrecognizable when compared to 2019. Every conceivable industry, from retail to supply chain logistics, has had to reimagine their internal operations from the ground up.
That includes the food and beverage industry. Establishments from the smallest independent locations to the largest, most well-known franchises have had to adjust their restaurant marketing strategies in order to keep up with the changing economy.
The highly competitive world of food, drink, and hospitality has become increasingly competitive over the last two years. Today, we're going to take a look at the changing restaurant landscape under the lens of solid, well-built restaurant marketing strategy.
We'll look at the importance of keeping stride —and outpacing— the rest of the pack, as well as the importance of integrating strategies that favor technology, customer loyalty, and the overall customer experience.
Restaurant Marketing Strategies: the Changing Food and Beverage Industry
How has the food and beverage industry changed over the last two years? Dramatically and exponentially.
The pandemic and its resulting fallout shook the industry to its very core. Between quarantines, social distancing measures, and a renewed dedication to hygiene and sanitation measures, the restaurant industry experienced a period of pronounced crisis at the start of COVID-19.
Customers were no longer allowed to dine in or were too cautious to do so. Establishments that wished to stay competitive (and profitable) were forced to pivot their business model to take out only.
Problems continue to persist despite COVID restrictions being eased and customers returning to in-person dining. In 2022 we're locked in the middle of a sustained supply chain implosion causing shortages of every ingredient conceivable.
For more than two years the food and beverage industry has been assailed by a sustained and destructive storm of factors. The question becomes, "How do we form good, solid restaurant marketing strategies in such an uncertain climate?"
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Convenience, Loyalty, and Technology
There's an old maxim in the marketing world: the customer is king. This sentiment shares DNA with the idea that the customer is always right. No matter which saying you prefer, there's a profound truth at the heart of each: the customer experience is the most important aspect when it comes to creating growth, ROI, and continued profitability for your enterprise.
According to Convenience.org, 48% of all restaurant patrons take advantage of customer loyalty programs when they are offered. Another 64% maintain enrollment in loyalty programs across multiple restaurants.
Even more noteworthy is the fact that 70% of all fast food patrons respond favorably to loyalty offers, while 64% of all sit-down, dine-in customers take advantage of loyalty programs when they are available.
So what do all these metrics mean? That loyalty programs are one of the three main pillars supporting your restaurant's prosperity during these contentious times. The other two are convenience and technology.
The concepts of loyalty and convenience are intimately tied to the customer experience. A stellar experience is based on customer perception. The more convenient you make your restaurant marketing strategies, the more memorable the customer's visit will be.
That in turn builds loyalty. It is up to restaurant owners to meet positive customer experiences with well-thought-out loyalty programs. The delivery method for those programs? Technology.
In the next section, we're going to take a look at some of the industry's best restaurant marketing strategies rooted in both technology and a phenomenal customer experience. These marketing methodologies will help your restaurant maintain parity with the competition no matter what curveballs the economy throws at us next.
How to Leverage Loyalty and Technology to Your Advantage: the Latest Strategies
Driving business through your front door —and building repeat business— is the holy grail of sustained profitability. It's what every entrepreneur, manager, and franchisee strives for when creating their set of restaurant marketing strategies. Fortunately, you and your business don't have to go it alone.
We are living in an era where technological advancement moves at the speed of light. A winning marketing strategy is as easy as using the tools and putting in the work. If you follow and implement the best practices listed below, a world-class customer experience will follow.
With that in mind, let's talk about the intersection of technology and the customer experience.
Related: Know What Your Guests Want Before They Do With AI-driven Smart Suggestions
Contactless Ordering and Self-Service Kiosks
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant industry experienced a watershed moment. Social distancing measures made the sitdown experience nearly impossible.
The entire first year of the pandemic was disastrous for the industry. Fortunately, technology came to the rescue in the form of contactless ordering methods, and those methods have remained in place even after restaurants reopened worldwide.
Contactless ordering typically relies on two different pieces of technology:
- Self-serve kiosk
- QR code menus
A lot of QSR (Aka fast food) establishments have begun to implement self-serve kiosks onsite. Rather than placing an order with a human being, customers are encouraged to use the kiosks to submit their orders, all while maintaining safe distances from one another. The only time that there's human interaction is when the food is delivered.
QR code menus, however, are the more universally applicable approach to contactless ordering. They also offer a wide range of additional functions for customers to enjoy.
For those unfamiliar, QR codes are a special type of barcode capable of holding a massive amount of information in their boxy, pixelated arrangements. The power and adaptability of the QR code is due to the fact that anyone with a mobile device can scan them. All it requires is the customer's phone or tablet camera.
From there, QR codes link out to websites, social media, and most importantly, digital menus. These menus are highly adaptable to each restaurant's purpose. You can pair each item on your menu with high-quality images in order to better entice customers.
This is especially important when it comes to add-ons like desserts, drinks, and appetizers. Those images can easily be changed, substituted, or suspended depending on the availability of menu items.
QR code menus aren't just a novelty. Each digital menu packs a punch. Restaurant owners can easily sync their digital menu to their POS system, enabling customers to place orders and schedule delivery options (if applicable) right from the digital menu itself.
Inventory Management
Technological integration is about more than just contactless menus. Another way that technology is changing the restaurant industry is through inventory management.
We're living through the biggest supply chain disruption in modern history. Ingredients may potentially be scarce. Wise restaurant owners and entrepreneurs have begun leveraging inventory management systems and enterprise resource planners (ERPs) to help them more accurately control inventory, as well as their costs.
Environmental Controls
Hygiene is on everyone's minds. From personal hygiene to facility management, cleaner, more efficient restaurants were a welcome result of the pandemic.
For example, restaurants across the United States migrated to purifying HEPA filters to help combat COVID via improved air quality. Some restaurant owners have taken hygiene and sanitation a step further by automating environmental control functions in their establishments. The end result? A deep impact on the customer experience.
Customer Relationship Management
Technology goes hand in hand with loyalty and convenience. That's why a customer relationship management (CRM) system is one of the best tools in a restaurant's arsenal. A CRM is a system that helps track complex customer metrics. Those metrics range in nature from demographic information to purchasing trends and customer behavior.
QR code menus once again play a huge role in effectively leveraging your CRM data. A digital menu can be connected to your CRM system. Every time a customer scans the restaurant's QR code, the restaurant owner obtains a windfall of actionable customer data.
Using that data, you can develop marketing offers designed to drive business through your doors and long-term loyalty programs aimed at customer retention. It pays dividends to link your customer experience to your CRM system.
Utilizing Social Media
QR codes have come a long way in terms of technological sophistication, but don't discount their more traditional application. It is easy to use scannable QR codes to redirect potential customers to your social media presence. This is a more traditional restaurant marketing strategy, to be sure, but it is also time-tested.
Social media serves as the modern-day town square. It gives a restaurant the ability to engage with its community and customer base on a much wider scale. It also gives you the opportunity to elicit direct feedback from the community, the value of which cannot be understated.
Building Your Venue's Restaurant Marketing Strategy
Increased profitability rests at the intersection of technology, loyalty, and convenience. Each of these three pillars serves to inform the other two. Leveraging the latest technology to your venue's benefit creates customer convenience, which in turn builds repeat business.
Improvements such as contactless ordering and digital menus that link to your POS and CRM give you a way to build a cycle of technology, convenience, and loyalty at your establishment. Mr Yum can help. Contact us today to get started.
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