Building your restaurant’s online presence is crucial in today’s market – it’s an essential element of brand building, bringing more customers in and increasing online orders, too. Whilst you’re likely aware of the benefits of social media, a blog is an often overlooked way to up your digital marketing game. From increasing your Google traffic to building a strong customer relationship, there are plenty of benefits to a blog.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of improving your website to help visibility on Google search results. Having new, dynamic content like a blog will help with this – a blog offers the opportunity to use keywords that may otherwise be tricky to shoehorn in, meaning people are more likely to come across your site.
Google favours sites that are updated regularly, which can otherwise be difficult to do on a restaurant site. Plus, a blog can include a call to action that will encourage visitors to order, so the traffic converts. Bonus points if Slerp is integrated – there can be a direct, fuss-free method for readers to order food right away.
This one is simple – engaging your customers and giving them more content around your restaurant is always a good idea. People are likely to share your content if they enjoy it, driving more traffic to you. It also gives you more content to share on your own socials – a win-win!
Show your customers what makes you special! Setting a brand tone of voice and sharing insights into your industry gives a personality to your restaurant, connecting with your customers. It also gives you authority in your industry.
Ready to take the leap? Get started with some of these ideas for blog topics:
Got an ever-evolving menu? Your blog is a great place to keep customers up-to-date about new dishes, seasonal offerings, and upcoming events. Nothing encourages people to try a dish like a mouth-watering description.
For the real foodies out there, you can deep-dive into the ins and outs of a spotlighted dish; talk about the inspiration, sourcing the ingredients, cooking techniques, and more.
Your blog shouldn’t just be about your restaurant – provide value with industry insights, info on seasonal eating, and other general topics. This is more likely to reach a wider audience.
Is there a trick to enjoying your food at its best? Create a blog that provides tips and tricks into reheating and serving your food. It sounds simple, but it might be helpful for readers to know.
Put a spotlight on your local community and write a round-up of your favorite food places in the area – including yourself, of course! Whether there’s a particularly good specialty store or fantastic café near you, sharing the love supports other local places and can also help you rank higher when people search for the best places locally.
Blogging is a great way to invest in yourself and build up your online presence, strengthening your brand and increasing orders in the process.
In the bustling world of restaurants, customer loyalty and repeat business are the lifelines that sustain growth. One of the most potent tools to foster this loyalty and drive repeat visits is email marketing. At Slerp, we understand that retaining a loyal customer base can be the difference between thriving and just surviving.
Email marketing isn’t just about sending promotions—it’s about building a relationship with your customers. A single visit might bring in £20, but a loyal customer who returns regularly could contribute up to £2,000 per year to your business. This underscores the importance of nurturing repeat visits and increasing customer spend with each interaction.
Email marketing offers several benefits:
Creating and growing an email list is the first crucial step in your email marketing journey. This list is your direct link to every customer who has already shown interest in your brand.
Start with your current POS system. Most systems store customer emails and contact details. Here’s how you can access and utilise this data:
Ensure every transaction—whether in-person or online—results in collecting an email address. This can be achieved by:
If your current system doesn’t support these features, consider upgrading to one that does, as collecting customer emails is fundamental to effective marketing.
Encourage new sign-ups by offering something valuable in return. Here are some effective strategies:
Always provide a compelling incentive, like a discount or a special offer, to motivate customers to share their contact information.
To take your email marketing to the next level, integrate a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. A CRM helps you manage and analyse customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle, with the goal of improving relationships and driving sales growth.
Maintaining a regular flow of engaging emails keeps your restaurant top-of-mind for your customers. Here’s how to ensure your emails are varied and compelling:
Kick things off with a warm welcome email sequence. This is your chance to reintroduce your restaurant, highlight your new online ordering system, and offer an enticing discount, such as 25% off their first order.
Send a mix of different email types to keep things interesting and prevent unsubscribes. A typical monthly schedule might include:
This variety ensures that your emails are not only informative but also engaging and valuable.
Promotional emails are a powerful way to drive immediate action. Use these sparingly but effectively, focusing on offers that align with your business goals, such as:
Be strategic with your promotions to maintain profitability while attracting more business.
A well-designed loyalty program is a game-changer for customer retention. Here’s how to create a program that keeps customers coming back:
Encourage sign-ups with an attractive welcome offer, like a 15% off coupon. Maintain engagement by providing consistent monthly discounts and rewards. Focus on cost-effective items such as appetisers, desserts, or non-alcoholic drinks.
Regularly update customers on their loyalty points and how close they are to their next reward. Send emails after every purchase with their current point balance and next reward milestone. This keeps the program exciting and encourages frequent visits.
Design your rewards system to offer achievable and desirable incentives. Popular choices include:
Ensure the rewards are appealing enough to motivate customers to keep earning points and returning to your restaurant.
At Slerp, we make email marketing simple and effective with our CRM. Our platform automates your email campaigns, ensuring your messages are always timely, relevant, and engaging.
Ready to see how Slerp can transform your restaurant’s email marketing? Schedule a demo with us today and discover how our CRM can boost online sales
Schedule a Free Demo of Slerp’s CRM
By integrating CRM into your email marketing strategy, you’ll not only enhance customer relationships but also drive greater engagement and revenue growth. Let Slerp guide you through this transformation and elevate your restaurant’s marketing game.
In today’s competitive restaurant industry, customer loyalty is more crucial than ever, especially as the market shifts increasingly towards online ordering and delivery. With digital platforms becoming the backbone of restaurant operations, fostering repeat business in a virtual environment requires innovative strategies. Enter the Endowed Progress Effect – a psychological principle that can significantly enhance your digital loyalty programs and boost customer retention.
The Endowed Progress Effect is a phenomenon where people are more motivated to complete a task when they feel they have already made some progress towards it. Imagine being handed a loyalty card with two out of ten stamps already filled. The sense of a head start increases your motivation to complete the card, making the goal seem more achievable.
Research underscores the power of this effect: customers given a loyalty card with a few pre-filled stamps have an 82% higher completion rate compared to those starting from scratch. This sense of initial progress fuels momentum, encouraging customers to return more frequently to achieve their goals.
As restaurants adapt to the digital era, integrating the Endowed Progress Effect into online loyalty programs can significantly enhance customer engagement and retention. Here’s how you can leverage this principle to boost repeat business through your digital platforms:
When new customers join your loyalty program, provide them with an immediate sense of progress. This could be in the form of initial points, stamps, or a complimentary reward. For online ordering, offer a discount on their next purchase or a free item as soon as they sign up. This instant gratification not only delights new members but also encourages them to return to your platform.
Example: Offer a 10% discount on the next online order or a free appetizer for new members who register for your digital loyalty program.
Recognizing and rewarding customers at various stages of their loyalty journey keeps them engaged. Use your digital platform to track their progress and offer rewards after specific milestones, such as the fifth online order or the tenth delivery. These small victories provide frequent incentives to continue engaging with your brand.
Example: After every five online orders, offer a special discount or an exclusive menu item available only to loyalty members.
Turn your loyalty program into an engaging and interactive experience by introducing game-like elements. Create challenges, levels, or badges that customers can earn through their online activities. Make their progress visible and exciting, which can significantly increase their motivation to continue ordering from your digital platform.
Example: Implement a tiered loyalty system where customers can unlock different levels and rewards based on the number of online orders they place. Offer digital badges for milestones like “5 Orders,” “10 Deliveries,” and “Top Customer.”
Tailor your rewards to individual customer preferences to make the loyalty journey as enjoyable as the reward itself. Use data from their online orders to offer personalised incentives that resonate with their tastes and preferences. This personal touch makes customers feel valued and appreciated, further strengthening their connection to your brand.
Example: Analyse a customer’s past orders and offer personalised discounts on their favourite dishes or suggest new items they might like based on their order history.
As restaurants embrace digital transformation, online loyalty programs offer unique advantages over traditional methods:
Incorporating the Endowed Progress Effect into your digital loyalty programs can transform casual diners into loyal advocates of your restaurant. By providing an initial boost, celebrating milestones, gamifying the experience, and personalising rewards, you can significantly enhance customer engagement and drive repeat business. As restaurants continue to go digital, leveraging this psychological principle can give you a competitive edge in the crowded online marketplace.
Embrace the digital shift, and let your loyalty programs propel your restaurant to new heights of customer satisfaction and retention.
To explore how Slerp’s Loyalty can help you implement these strategies and enhance your digital customer experience, click here to learn more!