Hospitality  marketing - free marketing ideas for restaurants, hotels , pubs & resorts. Promotional ideas & tips for restaurants. Promotions,  discount ideas ,   food, recipes    promotional menu ideas    restaurant marketing     running restaurants    restaurant help    hospitality industry     marketing food  products    promoting & marketing  BARS       restaurant advice     meal promotions gastro pubs,  marketing   advertising   Promotions    

Restaurant Marketing & Promotion

Home

About  Us

Promotions

Marketing

Theme Ideas

Contact us

Menus & recipes

Industry News & Products

So what sort of information might be useful and how can we obtain it discreetly, without invading their privacy?  Established methods include...

• Asking for more information when taking a booking – Could they give us a contact telephone number? Is it a special occasion? Do they have any dietary requirements? And with group bookings, do they have an email address so we can contact them nearer the time to clarify final arrangements.

• Putting a small card with the bill inviting guests to leave their details so that you can send them a regular newsletter to let them know what’s coming up  

• Encouraging customers to leave their business cards to be entered into a prize draw

• Asking when their birthdays are so you can contact them a couple of weeks beforehand with an offer – for example a free cake or a bottle of champagne when six people dine.

• Inviting visitors to apply for promotional vouchers (also effective to do online if you have a website)

Example - Getting to know John and Laura

In the table below, we’ve started to build up a sample profile about John and Laura,  new customers who’ve dined with us twice

They’ve only been into the restaurant a couple of times and already we have plenty of information. They’re beginning to trust us because we’ve been friendly but unobtrusive. The staff have used the booking information to greet them by name. The last time they dined, they had a table near the window, spent up and tipped well.  They seemed relaxed and open to light conversation with the staff. Laura mentioned it was daughter Abigail’s birthday a week on Thursday. Their customer profile is growing and we now have important information to help us judge their suitability to certain promotions and offers.

A word of caution here. Customers don’t like being pushed for too much information. If you ask John how much he earns in a questionnaire he’s unlikely to respond and will probably think it’s an invasion of his privacy. Instead, take an educated guess by looking at the way he dresses, how he behaves, how much he spends or what car he’s driving. All you’re after is a guide to his income bracket. It doesn’t have to be spot on.

Storing and organising customer information

Although customer details can be written by hand on individual sheets or cards, this information is much easier to manage if it’s put on a spreadsheet. Not only will you be able to make amendments or additions more easily, you will also be able to arrange the data to suit your needs. For example, if you want to promote an over-50’s lunch special, you can target the right age group much more accurately. Provided you have the information, you can sort your customers into any category you wish, from highest average spenders to those with a birthday in June.

      If you don’t feel confident with computers or you’re not familiar

with spreadsheets, go to

    ‘How to create a customer database in 5 simple steps’

                   Here’s an example of how a customers’ details might appear in a spreadsheet. . .  

Copyright 2010 PromoHelp

A good business recognises the value of its existing customers. These are the people who have already voted with their wallets and who, provided they are satisfied the first time around, will be more open than most to the idea of coming back for more.

Car dealers, perhaps more than most, recognise this. Think about all those letters they send. ‘Thank you for buying your car from us’  ‘We hope you’re happy with it’, ‘Don’t forget we can do the annual service’, and later, ‘Dear Valued Customer, Here’s a brochure about the latest model which we can offer you at a bargain price’….. They aren’t backwards about coming forwards but even if we don’t take them up on their offer, we’re still warmed by the fact that they’ve taken the trouble to contact us. We matter to them, they remember us and they care. It’s a good feeling and provided it’s not overdone, it’s a marketing tactic that can work wonders in any business, including restaurants.

It’s a well-known fact that it’s easier to get existing customers back again than to find new ones. But first you have to be able to get in touch with your customers and to do this you need their contact details. This is where a customer database comes in. It should give you all the information you need to market your product directly to your customers – at the very least their names and addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.

How well do you know your customers?

When it comes to marketing, it’s important to know as much as we can about our customers. For example, being aware that a couple called Bill and Linda live near the restaurant doesn’t really tell us much.  If we know a bit more about them - their approximate ages, what work they do, their interests, family background, likes and dislikes, we’ll have a much clearer picture of what might appeal to them.

‘A word of caution. Customers don’t like being pushed

for too much information.’

Storing customer information

Be aware that there are regulations in the Data Protection Act concerning the storage of customer information and you will need to register with the Information Commissioner. Don’t be put off. It’s simple, quick and inexpensive. To find out more visit www.is4profit.com  (business law section ‘Your firm and data’) or go to www.ico.gov.uk.

Don’t keep putting if off!

Creating a customer database is one of those things that sounds like a great idea but, in the case of many restaurateurs, gets no further than the 'to-do' list.  Excuses include lack of time and being no good with computers. It might seem like a daunting task to start with but the advantages of having a database are clear. It will enable you to:

•  publicise your offers and events on a mass scale

•  analyse where your customers come from and how often they visit you

•  contact them whenever you want

•  ask them for feedback to help you raise your game

Once you’ve collected enough information about your

customers, the next step is to use it effectively.

For more on this go to Put your Database to Work