Top Marketing trend of 2009

March 13, 2010
Top marketing trend of 2009:
Social media Brands looked to Facebook
and Twitter to connect with fans. By Christa Hoyland
 
In 2008, many brands were starting to experiment with social
media as a way to build their marketing muscle, and by mid-2009
social media initiatives were being built into marketing strategies
across the industry. Facebook and Twitter were key to fast casuals
finding creative solutions to attract and retain a new kind of
consumer.
Smart brands such as Red Mango used the sites to connect
with customers, and actually sought and rewarded customer input
and attentiveness. In November, Red Mango offered its 100,000
Facebook fans a $1-off coupon when its fan page reached that
follower milestone. The next month, the company asked its fans if
they would visit more often if the stores offered a line of all-natural
fruit and yogurt smoothies, and hundreds of fans posted enthusiastic
positive responses.
Brands also learned how to leverage the sites as effective
customer service management tools. As more brands did so, a
number of new technologies emerged to help track customers’
online conversations. The tools helped brands address customer
service issues and provided insight into what people were saying
about their overall customer experience.
For 2010, look for brands to find more ways to use social media,
including the creation of branded video channels. A small handful
of restaurant chains already have a YouTube channel, and
forward-thinking ones will use those sites for more creative branding
opportunities. The outlet has potential for a new form of restaurant
marketing, a la The Food Network. Instead of turning to cable,
consumers may soon be learning how to cook from their favorite fast
casual.
Those who find new ways to
use social media will be ready
for the next technology wave, said
Adam Sarner, research director at IT
consulting firm Gartner Inc., which
specializes in social CRM.
“The need to communicate
(stays the same) but the
technology and where people are
going to communicate does change,”
he said.

Ten Ways Restaurant and Entertainment Industries Can Use Social Media to Market

March 12, 2010

By Laura Lake, About.com Guide

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with the President of an international food chain and discuss social media. He understood the importance, but like most executives wasn’t sure how to turn social marketing into social commerce. I was happy to share with him some of my thoughts and ideas. We discussed the restaurant and entertainment industries that are doing it well and how he could use it to increase traffic and create brand awareness as well as customer loyalty.

Why does social media work well within the restaurant and entertainment industry? That’s a question that has an answer that is somewhat obvious. The reason social media works well is because we attend restaurants and entertainment districts to be social and interact. Those who enjoy these venues also enjoy social media.

There are many ways that social media can be turned into social commerce and I’m going to share with you a few of them.

You can use social media to:

•Engage and interact with existing customers and patrons.

•Introduce events and new menu items as well as specials.

•Gain feedback on menu items and events.

I often receive the question, “Laura, I understand social media is important, but how does it make me money?” I hear you. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, social media takes time to turn non-revenue producing activities into revenue producing activities, but it can and it does happen. Consider the following things that social media can do to help in saving time, money and resources therefore increasing revenue:

1.Gaining feedback and insight on service, events and menu items

2.Promote events or new menu items and specials

3.Encourage trials by offering specials and discounts

4.Using employees as your own brand ambassadors that spread the word about your brand

5.Having a direct dialogue with your current customers and potentially reaching new ones

6.Updating customers and your community on new projects, such as new openings or remodels

7.Increase excitement and foot traffic by sharing information, such as contests and giveaways

8.Use social media to connect with your franchises and create an online support community

9.Find employees

10.Monitor reputation and provide complaint resolutions

Let me give you an example of a how a small local bar experienced success using social media. I was talking to the manager and I asked him “what’s your slowest night?” He responded by telling me Tuesday was his slowest night. I could understand that. I said what if I could fill this place up with people on a Tuesday night and it didn’t cost you a dime? Of course, he jumped at the opportunity and by using social media we filled the neighborhood bar with 40 people on a Tuesday night and I’m sure he would tell you it was the best Tuesday night he has had since they opened.

There are many things you can use social media for, but the ultimate goal is to move it into a social commerce for your business. This will take time and effort, but it can be done and be successful. It’s a mistake to overlook the opportunity that social media brings to the entertainment and restaurant industry. As I left our meeting I saw the glimmer in his eye and could tell he had that “a-ha” moment!

What your guests are saying about you?

February 23, 2010

I discovered today that many of my independent restaurant friends are being talked about all over the internet. This entire social media deal is off the hook, mind boggling, confusing, and potentially the biggest pain in the butt that independent restaurants may ever face.

So many restaurants have established a presence in the social space using Twitter and Facebook and are busy trying to talk and listen to their fans, friends, followers, and everybody else in the space that has anything to say that somehow appears and or sounds to be relevant to the restaurant biz.

As they jump over the Farmville fences and dodge the Mafia bullets they can become beleagured trying to figure out what their customers are saying about them. Ocassionally, they even stop for a drink, a gift, accept friend requests, join fanpages, and read profiles. And every now and then, they stumble accross a comment about their restaurant. Alas, comments about your restaurant and they are positive, wow it’s all worth the effort, or so they think.

Did you know that there are sites on the internet like openTable, yelp, menupix, etc. where your guests are encouraged to write their own reviews? Do you know what they are saying to the world about your restaurant?

So now on top on your Twitter and Facebook you can add openTable, yelp, urbanspoon, and menupix to find out what is being said about your restaurant, right? There has to be a better way to mange this Pandoras box!

Yesterday, I discovered GuestPulse from InsideHospitality and what a discovery it was. Did you know that GuestPulse will find everything that is being said about your restaurant? GuestPulse can collect everything being said about your restaurant from virtually anywhere on the internet. They can provide a valuable resource for you to monitor what is being said about you.

I have cut and pasted the following directly from the GuestPulse site below without their permission, I hope they don’t mind. I am not compensated in any way for posting this, I am posting it because I see it as a valuable tool for my independent restaurant friends. Check out InsideHospitality, I think they really can help you manage your online reputation. They also offer 15 – 30 minute Webinars to help, I plan to get on one soon.

Why Choose GuestPulse™

to Manage Your Online Reputation?

We have ten reasons for you.

Reason #10 Our company is 100% completely Hospitality focused. This is all we do and know the industry like no other.

Reason #9 GuestPulse was conceived, designed and built from the ground up exclusively for the Hospitality industry.

Reason #8 GuestPulse scours over 50+ Million websites to find what anyone, anywhere is saying about you.

Reason #7 GuestPulse is your businesses Complete (ORM) Online Reputation Management solution.

Reason #6 Your guests are online and constantly sharing opinions about your brand. Discover what they’re saying and monitor the trends.

Reason #5 Communicate with your guests and influence their buying decisions. Become an active part of your own word of mouth and join the conversation.

Reason #4 Guest Pulse takes you further than any solution on the market. It starts with tailored and scalable services that help you attract new guests, drive sales, and grow your brand.

Reason #3 GuestPulse Is A Full Service Solution, we’re here to help you in managing your Online Reputation.

Reason #2 Completely custom designed solution for your unique operation and business.

Reason #1 Unparalleled Return On Investment (ROI).

Starting at $80 GuestPulse is priced so companies of every size can immediately begin seeing results and take an active role in their Online Reputation.

Why GuestPulse Is Valuable To Your Company

As you are aware, a good or bad experience can absolutely support or hurt your business. Often times, a guest will share their experiences with friends and family. Now, with the Web growing at a rapid pace, these comments can be seen by a large number of people (including potential customers) outside of the guest’s immediate online community. The result: guest feedback becomes more impactful and influential than ever before.

Put GuestPulse™ to work for you, and gain a partner who can help you leverage the power of social media. Not only can we quickly monitor conversations and easily segment them by influence/reach and tone — positive, neutral, or negative — we can empower you and your business to embrace and excel in your market and positively affect your guest satisfaction, sales, and bottom line.

"Simply Delighted Customers"

January 18, 2010

“Simply Delighted Customers”

I recently had lunch at Burtons Grill in Virginia Beach and everything was absolutely awesome. I learned the phrase “Simply Delighted Customers” from something that I read, printed, copied and faxed to a restuarant owner many years ago. Probably before the internet as we know it today. The phrase has stuck with me ever since and I love to use it to describe exemplary service and the attitude that fosters such behavior.

While at Burtons Grill a customer came into the restaurant with his laptop. He asked the server/bartender if there was a table with a power outlet so that he could hook up his laptop. This very articulate young grad student (wish that I could remember his name or have it printed on the receipt) showed the guest to a table and pointed to the ceiling where a power outlet was visible. The guest promptly replied that the outlet was pretty high and the server replied no problem. In less than two minutes he appeared with a 10 foot step ladder and an extension cord.When the guest saw the ladder and the extension cord and the ladder he didn’t even look surprised although I can’t believe that he was not. Subsequently, the customer moved to the bar and the server plugged his laptop in behind the bar.

I never saw even the slightest bit of hesitancy on the servers face and nothing he did showed that he was even the slightest bit phased by the customer. He acted as though everything he did for the customer was just part of the deal.

I was really impressed by his actions and recalled how many times that I have heard the simplest of requests while in restaurants and can’t remember a time when I have seen someone so willing to serve the customer. How many times have you asked for something in a restaurant and been told “no” or “sorry”, or “that will be an extra $.25″? To see this guy in action really made me think about the difference between the really good restaurants and the mediocre.

My hat is off to the people at Burtons Grill, they know what it takes to create “Simply Delighted Customers”, when in Virginia Beach be sure to check them out, they really are doing a great job.

Burtons Grill