Hospitality marketing -
Restaurant Marketing & Promotion
The internet is a powerful resource for marketing, advertising and research. For restaurants it’s invaluable for finding out what the competition is up to, keeping up with industry news and developments, sourcing new suppliers and products or researching information relevant to a promotion you’re planning. It’s also a perfect stage to announce to a large audience, who you are, what you’re up to and when you’re doing it. These days, an internet presence is essential if you want to stay ahead of the game. The necessary tools are already there and are straightforward and easy to use.
Social Networking
You, your family, staff and friends may already have pages on Facebook or MySpace.
Now, sites like MSN messenger also have message feeds and comment-
Digital networking, which started in the college social circles of America, has quickly spread worldwide. Millions of Facebook members go online for a variety of reasons – to track down old school friends or work colleagues, find people with common interests or simply make new friends. It’s also a way of showing people what makes you tick
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DO claim your business page and afterwards, login to Yelp for Business Owners to keep track of your business' page on Yelp and to engage with the Yelp community.
DO add photos to your business page and make sure your business information is correct. You'll be able to immediately update your business' information via the Yelp for Business Owners website.
DO thank those customers who have reviewed your business using Yelp for Business Owners. In general your best bet is to keep it simple and positive, keeping in mind that these are your most vocal customers.
DO take the feedback to heart but remember that each review is just one single opinion.
DO start thinking about every customer as a potential yelper and supporter... and providing the excellent customer service that will encourage them to spread the word.
Using social networking sites to
promote your venue
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DON'T review your own business or solicit reviews from your employees or friends.
DON'T spam yelpers with promotional messages about your business.
DON'T overestimate the impact of a single negative review. It happens to even the best businesses. That said, if you see a trend of negative reviews, you may want to take this feedback and determine if there is a way to improve your business.
DON'T lash out at the people who have written negative reviews about you. Tempting as that may be, we see that backfiring in some cases as the Yelp community may up the ante and even engage in "vigilante justice" by spreading more negativity. Try to remember, "the customer is always right".
DON'T offer incentives or payment for your customers to write positive reviews about your business on Yelp. This sort of "shilling" often causes ill will with both current and potential customers. In addition, these paid reviews violate Yelp's Review Guidelines and will be removed.
about the etiquette of website restaurant reviews.
And then the do’s........
First the don’ts.......
So can restaurants benefit from networking sites?
Most definitely. It’s simple, free and you have nothing to lose. All you need do is to create a profile or fan page featuring your restaurant by following the simple instructions on whichever site you choose, preferably the most popular (see chart below). Once you have created your profile, you can easily update it by posting new information (like coming events or daily specials) or adding photos of your restaurant, your staff, even your food. As these sites grow in popularity so does the number of them appearing on the net. Here’s a summary of the main ones